from zegama to winning the US national mountain championships in seven days

Were these last few weeks even real? From racing my first mountain marathon at Zegama to winning the US national mountain running title a week later, this has got to be one of the craziest back-to-back adventures of my life. I’ve been home for a few days now, feeling downright exhausted and basically living in hibernation… But I am also energized in a way I’m not sure I’ve ever been before. There’s no high like surprising yourself with what you’re capable of.

photo by Guillaume Soler

planning this double

Zegama is one of the most famous trail marathons in the world. It’s in the Pyrenees in Spain, about an hour outside of Bilbao, and is best known for the incredible amount of spectators that line the course. From a fans perspective, this is trail running’s Tour de France. For years now, I’ve heard people in the running world say, “Zegama is Zegama”, and I never quite knew what that meant. I figured that at some point I had to go and find out.

It was early this winter when I started scheming what to do with my race calendar for 2025. I had already decided that I would take a step back from track for the year in order to focus on building bigger volume and giving myself a better foundation for some key trail events. I knew Zegama was May 25th. Oof, I thought, that’s early in the season. I questioned whether running my longest race to date as one of my first races of the year was smart. And I also contemplated how I would even prepare well for it, given that Wyoming has snow-covered trails deep into the spring. But all it took was mentioning my curiosity about Zegama on a call to David, my coach, to make me feel confident in what I knew I wanted to do. He always has this way of knowing when something genuinely excites me — and encourages me to run towards it.

Even taking into account that the US Classic Mountain Championships (often called “Mountain Champs”) was just a week later in New Hampshire wasn’t enough to convince me otherwise. Despite being a qualifier for the World Champs this coming September — a big goal of mine being to represent Team USA at said World Champs — I still went through with the plan to race Zegama. I felt like my better chance at making Worlds would be in the Vertical discipline because I’m undeniably a climber, and the qualifier for that wasn’t scheduled until June 20th at Broken Arrow. So in other words, I decided I was willing to risk being a bit tired for the Classic Mountain Champs… because I never expected it to be my race.

photos by Rising Story

racing my first trail marathon at zegama

Zegama was, in fact, Zegama. It’s hard to find words that do the experience justice. It’s one of those things you just have to see and feel for yourself. If you’re serious about this whole trail running thing, trust me when I say you have to find a way to go at some point in your career. It was the most thrilling thing to run through hoards of people, cheering for me by name, willing me onwards. The privilege of being on the receiving end of support and excitement like this is not lost on me.

The race played out really well, considering it was my first crack at a longer distance and took nearly twice the amount of time as my previous race experiences. I was thrilled with my nutrition; I crushed 105 grams of carbs per hour, for 4:45hrs. My pacing was solid and I didn’t fall apart tooooo too terribly towards the end of the race… Only a little, falling from the top ten to the 11th place finish I earned. So overall, I am really proud of my result, knowing how much I nailed on the first try & also how much I learned in the process. I can’t wait to go back to this event and go for the top ten finish I know I’m capable of.

photo by Rising Story

winning the Us mountain running championships

Returning from Spain was a journey. Fortunately, I had some close friends to take me in once I got to New Hampshire. It was lovely getting to focus on nothing more than sleeping, eating, spending time with my people, and getting recovered as quickly as possible. But I won’t lie, I felt off all week. The days passed quickly, my runs were somewhere between brutal and mediocre, and my quads remained rocks no matter what I did. At times, I strongly doubted my ability to pull off top 3 (what it would take to make the Worlds team) in just a few short days. So I settled on that being the ultimate “A” goal, but mentally prepared for the disappointment that seemed possible, if not probable.

Race morning came and I found comfort in the realization that at least on this day I felt the best I had all week! It was such a simple and stupid realization to cling to, but it got me through the warmup and to the start line without freaking the eff out. When the gun went off, I was at peace with the state of things and just tried to relax into the spicy pace as best I could.

The course was two laps up and down Mount Sunapee. Both laps shared a punchy climb up a liftline before they diverged. The first lap reached the summit by way of a very steep 2.5 mile ascent up a service road, and the second followed a rooty and rocky singletrack trail to the same high point. At the summit, the two routes converged again and plummeted down a soggy, gladed run to the base of the ski area.

I felt like garbage on the first lap. I was able to successfully grind out the climb, crossing over the top timing mat 8 seconds behind Allie MacLaughlin and shoulder to shoulder with Lauren Gregory. But once we crested the top and started to descend, the other two were quickly gone. They covered the 10 minute downhill segment 40 seconds faster than I did, and before I knew it, I could hear fourth and fifth place charging hard on my heels. I felt uncoordinated and strange, and descended more timidly than usual. Starting the second lap, I was aware that this thing was quite possibly about to go off the rails. This was where the Zegama fatigue really started to show.

Emotionally though, I was determined not to give up. I had to prove that I wasn’t stupid for doing both races. I had to hang on as best I could. So I put my head down and I went to work as I entered the more technical second ascent. I didn’t look. I didn’t think. I just ran. Many minutes later I peeked up and was shocked to see the colors of Allie and Lauren’s kits weaving through the thick woods just seconds ahead of me. Wait what??

This is when the jets came on. I was suddenly jolted out of whatever stupor I had been in since the gun. I could see clearly for the first time all day — for the first time all week, really. The mental fog immediately evaporated, and I felt connected to and in control of my body again. I skipped over feeling alright, feeling fine, and feeling good, and went straight to feeling downright amazing in a matter of minutes. Oh, the thrill of racing. You just never know.

Allie, Lauren, and I ran together, in that order, for several minutes. But a little voice inside my head made it clear that I should capitalize on the limitless feeling inside my chest, knowing from experience that it’s always fleeting. The other two would roll me up on the descent if it went anything like the first time, so the least I could do for myself was get a head start by summiting first. That was what gave me the best chance of making Team USA. So I bounced around the others and turned the pace up more than a notch. It didn’t take long until I was alone, on a tear through the woods, with a very very good feeling about what was happening.

For the rest of the race, I floored the gas pedal. I felt infinitely more comfortable through the gladed section this go-around, and later found out that I ran it 45 seconds faster the second lap than the first. It wasn’t until I was out of the woods that I felt out of the woods — roughly 400m from the finish line. I seriously had this! Not only was I going to make my first Worlds team in any discipline, but I was about to win the damn thing!!

This was the third national title to my name, but the first since high school. My first as a professional. My first in trail. Wins like these are the one’s you remember forever.

photo by Michael Dillon

Wins like these also take a village. This W isn’t just mine. Thank you to everyone in my corner — to my sponsors, my teammates, my friends and family, & my community! And to the other women in the US for pushing the level of competition to these heights. I am so proud of what we accomplished.

what’s up with the level up?

Last year was solid for me, but my performances in the first three races of this year seem to show the level-up I was hoping would come. I worked SO hard this winter. Big volume, consistent long runs, back to back intensity (running + riding), better nutrition, heat training, and the list goes on. All the little things add up, and I did as many of them as possible.

But more than anything, we (me and David) trained toughness. I think that is what’s really starting to show. I’m talking the mental and physical durability to remain mentally committed and confident through everything from a minor inconvenience like a blister or a stumble to a performance squasher like having dead legs. For me, training this resilience didn’t take the form of running. It came from remaining as level-headed as possible through a few hectic years of life. Through splintered relationships and seeming loss of stability. Through long days in the saddle, racing Huffmaster Gravel, and climbing / skiing Mount Adams and the Red Sentinel. It came from safely navigating through the wildest wind storm and poorest visibility deep in the winter backcountry as dusk settled in. Ultimately, this toughness came from learning how to focus and opt in over and over, in as many different challenging circumstances as possible. So when things get tough or there’s a wrench in the plans, all I have to do is tap back into a mindset I’ve intentionally trained to be my first instinct.

So here’s to my first marathon and my first senior national title. And to continuing to train and display this toughness. Safe to say I’m loving every second of it. Thanks for being a part of the journey.

photos by Michael Dillon

where you’ll find me next!

June 18th-22nd - Broken Arrow Ascent & 23k (always one of my favorite weeks of the year!)

June 23rd-25th - TrailCon

June 26th-29th - SBT GRVL (hardlaunch! I’m racing bikes again!)

July 10-12 - Crusher in the Tushar