Erik and Dave speak with East Coast running champion, award-winning coach, and barrier-breaking athlete, Amy Rusiecki. This episode is sponsored by Winnebago Industries Foundation.
Amy Rusiecki is the owner of Beast Coast Trail Running and the Race Director for the Vermont 100 mile race, Seven Sisters Trail Race, Chesterfield Gorge Ultra Event, and Mount Tobey 50k, as well as a winning endurance athlete herself.
Amy is a true barrier-breaker in the ultra community. She successfully petitioned for the Vermont 100 to be the first ultra race in the country to recognize AWDs (athletes with disabilities) in their own division and has taken the Vermont 100 partnership with Vermont Adaptive to new heights. Since becoming the race director seven years ago she has helped raise close to $1M for the adaptive sports organization.
She has made bold moves to push past gender barriers, creating non-binary divisions in all of her events and she has led conversations nationwide about how to better manage gender equality within the race industry. Amy has been coaching for 18 years, working with High School and College running and XC ski teams, named ‘Coach of the Year’ three times.
Amy herself fell in love with trail running and ultras. She has three times represented the USA at World Trail Championships, her best finish was at the 2013 World Trail Champs, where she was the top American and 15th female. Amy has raced up and down the East Coast and ultimately enjoys running regardless of distance, terrain, or location.
Special thanks to the Winnebago Industries Foundation for their support of this podcast and their advocacy for accessibility in outdoor spaces.
Resources:
Vermont 100: https://vermont100.com/
Beast Coast Trail Running: https://www.facebook.com/beastcoasttrails/
Vermont Adaptive: https://www.vermontadaptive.org/