Natalie Thompson

"The first time I remember actually going for a run was around age 12. I went on a little 2-mile jog with my dad and sister…I beat them both back to the house…the rest, I guess you can say, is history. But really it took me until college to start to run with any sort of regularity, or with any goal in mind. In my college years I dabbled in road marathons and began to understand the immense greatness that is trail running. If you’ve never experienced the trails of Ithaca, NY, please do so. Post-college I lived in Seattle and later Leavenworth, Washington. Undoubtedly I owe my love of mountain running to the incredible Cascade Mountains, and to a few killer mountain runners named Brian, Adam, Phil, and Nicole.

These days I’m taking mountain running and trail racing a bit more seriously than I have before. I was fortunate to join the Mountain Peak Fitness – Red Newt Racing trail racing team last year, and I look forward to another great season with them again this year. I run trails because it’s a way for me to escape, explore, get frightfully scared, and feel wholly accomplished, alive, and exhausted all at once.

See ya on the trails!"

[Editors Note: Natalie is also a Nutritionist. Check out her website at Happy Belly Life! And find her on Facebook]