“I’m so nervous I could cry,” I heard myself tell our six year-old as Tim dropped me off at the designated start line dropoff spot. As I walked a half mile to the start, I told myself, “This will be hard, but you can do this. You’re committed. Just don’t start out too quickly and make it harder than it already is. And then what did I do as soon as the race started? Started with a 6 minute and 40 second mile…oops. Race adrenaline made it feel easy, and even though I had purposely stayed 10-15 seconds behind the front pack of experienced ultrarunners, I had made a classic rookie mistake. “That ..read more

Although my mom and dad would not consider themselves athletes, my grandma was another story… She was the best athlete of all the girls AND boys in Surrey, B.C., and her dad, my great grandfather Jeremiah, was so confident that she, the oldest girl of his 14 children, would win the annual Surrey City grade school fitness competition, that he had a big trophy made, and he donated it for the winner. The day of the competition came, and my grandma won it out-right, only to have the trophy given the first place boy, who had come in second place to my grandma. My great-grandpa was furious, but th ..read more

My athletic career came from humble beginnings. “Girl, age 7, soccer ball” dangled somewhere from a local church’s Christmas giving tree. Sprinting downstairs Christmas morning, I rushed to see if Santa came this year – he did! I gingerly checked the pieces of paper with kids’ names laid on top of a row of unwrapped gifts. “Dominic, Mary, Martin, Joey, Eddie, Maria, Zack, and Greg” – but no Rosie. Santa forgot me! I ran upstairs, sat on the toilet, and started to cry until my oldest brother, Eddie, told me my name had fallen off of my gift. In his hands, he held…a soccer ball! Brand new, and ..read more

Habits shape who we are and determine where we’re headed. From small actions to daily routines, they sculpt our success story. Cultivating good habits isn’t just a choice; it’s a game-changer. Consistency breeds excellence. Whether it’s reading, exercising, or practicing mindfulness, these small steps pave the way for monumental achievements. Most people want to embrace habits that empower growth and nourish aspirations since those habits are the bricks to building a thriving life… BUT…. many people have trouble making good habits stick. How about you? Do you know what you should do but have ..read more

What an incredible experience racing two different world championships, in Belgium and Portugal, in one weekend (the elite FISO OCR World Championships and the Masters Mountain World Championships). Friday’s race was a flat, short (3k), intense, obstacle-filled race while Sunday’s trail race took us 4,000 feet up and down a mountain in 20 miles! Training for such different races proved to be quite a challenges…and very fun! People say it’s important to specialize/focus to be your best, but some of the best athletes I know train hard/well in more than one sport. Mental burnout ends more athleti ..read more

After living in Costa Rica for a month, we are now living in Mexico for a month… We’ve been asked how we do it, and I’m happy to share. We have remote jobs, a kid who’s not in school yet, and no mortgage, so that’s huge. Also, we are willing to live with a lot of uncertainty and discomfort in order to have these experiences. Our standard for quality food and for safety in lodging is high, for instance, but other than that, we are willing to live in small, inexpensive places with ants and outdated furniture (with everything that we DO own stuffed into a storage unit) while navigating communica ..read more

We won the OCR World Championship Pro Women’s Team Relay today! Two years in a row! What a wonderful consolation prize after coming up short of my outcome goal on Friday. Hannah Holmes started us out in the lead, and Kris Rugloski and I both added to it, until the very end, where we three joined back up, worked through the last few obstacles together, finishing strong, with big smiles. I’d like to give a huge shout-out to Kris for an incredible weekend of back-to-back racing and to Hannah for overcoming her fear of a psychological obstacle that involves a big, high leap from a platform to a sl ..read more

A sports psychologist once told me to plan something fun to do after a race so that no matter the outcome of the race, I have something to get my mind off things. My old coach, Hobie, told me to wear my Wonder Woman costume and cheer on the kids at the kids race, which he knew would be meaningful to me and make me smile. This got me thinking of a list I’ve never seen but that could be valuable… How to Fail Gracefully 1)   Despite failing (real or perceived), finish the race/project/speech, etc. as well as possible. In other words, don’t quit just because you’re falling short of ..read more

Ever want something really badly, and go after it with all you’ve got, only to come up short? I have, many times. And today, unfortunately for me, was no exception…yet despite feeling disappointed, there’s always a sense of accomplishment that comes with committing to a goal, regardless of the outcome.  After going out strong and poised today, in the small lead group at the top of the big hill, nearly halfway through the race, I got a little hung-up on a funky strength-based obstacle (La Gaffe) but made it through and raced on with determination, still in the top four.  At a new ninj ..read more

Morning Stats Yang/firing up: high-five in the mirror stood on one leg while brushing teeth, to activate glutes cold shower one hour ten minute run one hour and ten minute Higher Ground Athletics strength and mobility session Yin/cooling down: morning mantra: “My body is rested and my mind is clear. Today is going to be a fantastic day.” 2 minute meditation 4 minutes of dynamic stretching ..read more