[anne Ryan]

Hello Female Athletes!

My name is Anne and I am so happy to be joining you, albeit late to the party! I lived in Ridgway when Steve House was still there and I reached out to him several weeks back about tightening up a training plan for an upcoming SkiMo race. I unfortunately lost my nineteen year old son this fall, and will be racing the Grand Traverse (actually the Triple Crown (ski, run, mtn bike race) in his memory, as he was the youngest person to ever finish the ski race at 15! When Steve learned of this, he suggested I join your group for a little extra Female Power and Love! Thank you Maya and Carolyn for letting me jump in late! I am honored to study, learn and train with you. I have been in Bozeman, MT for the past few weeks getting my daughter settled into her first semester of college. I loved my time there. Now I am back in SW Colorado, putting my nose down to what snow we have! I am grateful for the structure and stability of training!

My list of sports goes on from Horseback Riding to Mountain Biking to Skimo to long distance mountain runs. I love a good off road triathlon from time to time! My big races this year are the GT Triple Crown and the 100M Run, Rabbit, Run in Steamboat. But really my sport is life (because I have had to increase my endurance year after year to carry my fair share of trauma and loss) and my race is maintaining a positive outlook and being of service to others. I am also a coach, a writer, an educator, and an angel mamma now as well as an earth mamma! I am lucky to have a partner who loves training and racing and adventuring with me.

I am dusting off some of my own coaching programs to offer to local women, as well as brainstorming this idea of cathartic events (training, races, adventures) that help people like myself heal from big losses! I have done a lot of therapeutic outdoor work for various groups, but losing my son is challenging me at a whole new level, and I definitely want to help others where and when I can…it’s the biggest mountain I have yet to climb! But I am doing it with a smile, joyful tears, and the only way I know how: keep moving, and just put one foot in front of the other! Oh, and choose good adventure buddies. For that, I am grateful to meet you all and get to know you more. Good luck with all of your dreams, goals and aspirations…you can do it!

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 6, 2022 at 2:19 pm #62989

Hi Anne!

Blessings to you and everything that you do. Your write up of who you are and what you do and what you are doing is beautiful. Same to you with living your dreams, goals, and aspirations. It is Nature and being outdoors that clears me, heals me and inspires me.

-Pie in New Zealand.

[Jenna Dodge]

Jenna Dodge on February 6, 2022 at 5:25 pm #62993

Hi Anne,

I am so sorry for the unimaginable loss of your son. I’m glad you have joined us here in the FUA training group! It’s a fabulous group.

I live in Bozeman, about a mile away from MSU. If there is ever anything your daughter needs please do not hesitate to reach out to me 406-581-0459. If you want an adventure buddy next time you are in town, please be in touch!

~Jenna

[anne Ryan]

anne Ryan on February 7, 2022 at 2:09 pm #63064

For sure! Yes, let’s connect in Bozeman. We love it there. Hoping to be up mid-march to do the Shedhorn Skimo race and grab my daughter for spring break! Maybe we can met then! All the best to you!

[Melanie Hunter]

Melanie Hunter on February 26, 2022 at 3:37 pm #63684

Hi Anne,

Thank you for sharing your story and (a very late) welcome to the group! Your honesty about your loss and how you’re coping as best you can is heartening to read. I am so sorry. And, I think you’re on to something with the idea of cathartic events/adventure as therapy for processing trauma. It’s an interesting idea to ponder. Maybe it’s a way to access parts of ourselves that we thought were gone, that we thought had been destroyed by what we went through. Maybe it helps us remember who we are and who we can be. I’m interested in your ideas if you feel like sharing more. Either way, I wish you healing and strength as you move forward, tears and all.