Hometown: The Inland Empire, California
Currently lives in: Ventura, California
Core activities: Running (trail & road), backpacking, pub-crawling…basically all areas of life
Can otherwise be found: On the beach or in the water photographing surfers, at a local brewery, or buried in a book.
What tip would you give to someone just getting into running? You may think you need all the latest gadgets, but really, less is more.
Fell in love with running: I played basketball for 11 years, and as a freshman I joined my high school’s track team as a way to stay conditioned during the off-season. I ran middle-distance, specializing in the 800m and qualified for league finals. It was incredibly exhilarating. When basketball season picked up again, I realized that I actually enjoyed the drills more than the game itself. It was the running I was in love with. I haven’t stopped running since. In 2012 I signed up for my first trail run and experienced such an overwhelming joy that I had never felt before, outside of track meets. The atmosphere paired with the genuine, down-to-earth community had me hooked.
Favorite places:Happy hour.
Go-to LUNA Sandal Model: Currently, the Mono 2.0. They felt like butter, straight out of the box. Like two sticks of butter.
Superstitions: A couple of years ago I participated in the Born to Run Ultra 4-Day Event. Our “race” started before the bibs arrived so we used temporary 0.0km bibs from another one of the weekend’s “races.” I folded it to read “0k” and pinned it to my hydration pack, and it’s lived there ever since. I consider it my lucky charm.
Bucket list items: Every single one of Candice Burt’s 200-mile races, the Grand-to-Grand stage race, and the Quad Dipsea. I also fantasize about leaving everything to backpack the PCT, AT, and the CDT.
Spirit animal: My IG handle and blog is called Running with Mountain Goats, which hints at the fact that all of my friends are pretty talented mountain runners, and I’m just trying to keep up…however I feel like I relate the most to a mountain lion. I enjoy climbing, being able to overlook expansive views, solidarity when out in the wilderness, slow, and precise movement, and napping.
Childhood dream occupation: When I was five I wanted to be an artist, or a teacher, so I settled on art teacher. Then I saw Free Willy and became obsessed with becoming a trainer. I still thought orcas were a little scary (too big) and figured everyone would want to become a dolphin-trainer, so I settled on manatee-trainer. Then I found out they kinda just float around chewing on grass, and napping all day….so then I wanted to become a manatee.
Follow on Instagram: @runningwithmountaingoats
