Ashley is an ultrarunner with an incredible track record of outdoor adventures in the Sierras. Moving from marathon training to lose weight for college credit to winning ultramarathons after starting on dirt to better exercise her dog off-leash, Ashley is a badass on trails.
We talk about some of the opportunities she has living in the Great Basin with access to the Sierra in less than an hour, exploring the mountains with her dog, then her dogs, camping trips to hot springs, and point-to-point adventures she has her sights on. Ashley has completed a number of epic races, and just as many big adventure days in the Lake Tahoe area. Mindset is a key theme of our discussion, including how to press on in an adventure despite pain and mental challenges, and what it was like exploring, solo, with paper maps.
This episode covers Ashley's experience at Javelina Jundred 2024, which featured an entirely runnable course with 105 degree temperatures in the open desert, how to troubleshoot long adventures and ultramarathons when nutrition, weather or injuries take things sideways, and some future experiences on her "one day" list.
Ashley frequently explores trails in Tahoe, and shares some of the learnings from her Tahoe Rim Trail Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt, big future goals, and volunteering at races to give back to the run community. Some of the invaluable wisdom she shares: take baby steps toward your goal then add on. She first started running ten minutes, then added time the next run. Now, she's going after sub-20 hour 100 mile races and pondering some of the most challenging events in North America. If there's a will, there's a way!
Ashley can be found out on the trails with one or both of her dogs, or on Instagram at @ashleyyayoutside
You can always connect with me on Instagram @cactusmoose or through my website.
