Start line, 2023 Hellgate 100km++ trail race, 12:01am

Lloyd Christmas: What are the chances of a girl like you and a guy like me…ending up together?
Mary Swanson: Not good.
Lloyd Christmas: Not good like one in a hundred?
Mary Swanson: I’d say more like one in a million.
Lloyd Christmas: So you’re telling me there’s a chance!
— […]

Best WUS Rookie: Mike and Anthony

Best WUS recruiter: Nick

Worst WUS Race Experience: Aaron, Wisconsin Ironman

Best WUS Milestone: Aaron, 20 Hellgates

Best WUS Alum Surprise Visit: Nate

Best WUS performance: Garret, Tor des Geants

Best WUS bait and […]

Fair Hills, Maryland, September 2022

From left to right: Janice, Kevlar (horse), Courtney, Bobby (horse), me

Seen a guy running in a bike helmet? The women on horseback shook their heads. My eyes widened. I was on a horse I’d never ridden before, looking for a man I’d just met, along a vast network of […]

My stomach drops. Time slows down. I freeze like a bunny, hoping the moment will pass if I just don’t move. The hand glides up the thigh. The straying thumb and forefinger pinch the ass. My brain fuzzes. I can’t process all these emotions at once. Anger. Fear. Humiliation. Resignation. I’ve been fair game in […]

Hellgate 100k++ Saturday, December 11, 2021 12:01am. Fincastle, Virginia

Results

This year’s Hellgate starting line

The Race I Promised My Mother I’d Never Run

No one was more shocked than my husband when I announced my plan to run Hellgate this year. For more than a decade […]