I kind of fell unexpectedly into the world of ultrarunning. I work for a company that puts on marathons and a bunch of my coworkers did a half marathon together. I wasn't a runner at all and didn't have any desire to run but felt the pressure to do this race with them. I ended up really enjoying the experience. A few weeks after the race, I started trail running and instantly knew that I wanted to do a race on trails. The natural progression was to challenge myself with larger distances and in the spring of 2024, I ran a 50 miler. I had only been a runner for about a year so it was a steep learning curve to run a race like that.
2. Who are you inspired by?
Anyone that does something with a high probability of failure to me is inspiring. I remember being at the finish line of a race I was working at and a woman crossed the finish line. She had run a half marathon and had done it in about 6 hours. I could tell she was hurting and this was a huge accomplishment to her. I could tell it meant a lot more to her than a lot of runners that finished hours faster than her. I think people don't take as many risks as they should. Signing up for a race you may not be able to finish is a risk more people should take. Watching people take these risks inspires me to go do hard things.
My running playlist is all over the place. My playlist includes Pop, Rock, Instrumental, Hip Hop, Rap, etc. Since I've started trail running more, I listen to more audiobooks, podcasts and even silence. I think I've changed my music because I try to focus on the surroundings more. I've started having music as my background soundtrack rather than my main motivation to keep moving.
4. Do you have a specific running playlist?
I do have a specific playlist but I'm old school and have the music locally on my phone.
5. What are some things you think are very specific to the ultrarunning community as it relates to sound/music? In other words, what would non-runners not understand about how ultrarunners listen to the sounds around them?
I think for me, headspace is really important. When I can run and let my mind wander, that's when I'm in a flow. Music can help put my mind in that space. I have specific songs that I listen to when I start running to put myself into that space.
6. What are your future goals or race plans?
My next project is to solo trail run Kings Peak (Highest Point in Utah) in a day. I also want to run my first 100 miler. Probably in 2026.