2015 Running Year In Review

2015 ended up being quite the adventure for running.....aside from losing a toenail, which incidentally hurt worse than listening to 1,000 Justin Bieber songs. Here is a rundown of some of the cool places my legs carried me last year. I'll link to the individual race reports if you want to see the stories or more pictures.

February
I ran the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival in Las Vegas with Mel and Jackson. I had originally been shooting for 100 miles, but with the aforementioned pesky toe, I dropped to 50. It was seriously awesome to watch Mel and Jackson both get 31 miles - their first ultramarathons!

In February I was also interviewed by Ultrarunner Podcast. You can check out the interview HERE or check out Ultrarunner Podcast on iTues. I've listened to all their podcasts on my long runs so it was cool to be interviewed by them.

March
I ran the Monument Valley 50 miler. There is a little bonus if you get to the area early - you can take a jumping picture in the exact spot where Forrest Gump ran!

Running Monument Valley was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. Many of the trails are private trails on the Navajo Nation, so it was quite an honor to see these views. It was honestly like running through a postcard the entire time. I put together this video with scenes from the race:



April
I kept my streak going of being one of the few people who has ran the Zion 100 every year since the race started. Living only a few minutes away from the course, this race feels like home. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

May
I became BFFs with Marie Osmond through doing some coaching with her nephew who did a long run through most of the state of Utah. My mom was super jealous.

June
I ran the Ultra Adventures Bryce 50 miler. The first few hours were cold and foggy which was a photographer's paradise.

I almost got barfed on by a stranger. I ate a Snickers bar while standing in a flash flood. I prayed that I wouldn't get struck by lightning. I got mud in my underwear. I helped people keep going when they wanted to give up. Then later they kept me going when I wanted to give up. I saw God's fingerprints in the beauty around me. You know, just your average ultramarathon.

July
In Utah there is a legendary mountain called Timpanogos that I have always wanted to climb to the top of. Finally in July I was able to make it up there with my friends Catherine, Carin, and Alessandra.

I've seen lots of crazy things on the trails, but our run to the peak of Timpanogos was the first time I've ever seen this:

Also in July I ran my first marathon before going to work for the day. That work day became unofficially sponsored by Dr. Pepper.

August
I ran the inaugural Tushars Sky Marathon which was ridiculously beautiful and ridiculously difficult.

This race will teach you what a 10 hour marathon feels like.

The wildflowers were spectacular. The greens on the mountains were just so....green. I had no idea that a landscape like this existed outside of Europe, let alone in Utah!

I made this clip with views from the Tushars race:


September
I ran the Wasatch 100 which was as difficult and crazy as everyone says it is. I was paced by my amazing friends Clair, Jared, and Catherine. Temperatures reached nine billion degrees and I was embarrassed when I my skeleton stood at the finish line because all my skin had melted off. I finished a comfortable (cough, cough) 35 minutes before the cutoff.

October
I became the first person to do a quadruple St. George Marathon. I started running at the finish line Friday morning, ran up to the start line, then back down the course, then made it back up to the start line Saturday morning to run my last marathon with the official race. My stomach shut down at the finish line and it took every ounce of will power I had to not throw up on this girl who stopped to tell me everything she learned from the book "Born To Run". The race was a challenging, rewarding experience.

November
I ran my first ever Rim To Rim To Rim run at the Grand Canyon. I started at the South Rim, ran down to the bottom, then up the North Rim, then turned around and came back which ended up being 53 miles after getting lost, then turning around to retrieve some lost trekking poles. The run was certainly harder than I expected.

I did a little bit of exploring before the Grand Canyon and got one of my all time favorite jumping pictures at Horseshoe Bend:

December
The last few days of December and the first day of January I ran 150 miles at the Across The Years three day race. It was the perfect culmination of such a fun year of running.

I feel incredibly thankful to be working with St. George Running Center, Altra Running, Tailwind Nutrition, UltrAspire, and Ultra Adventures. It is an honor to help represent brands and people that I believe so much in.

I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for 2016!