Most of you know me as Sherree. A small number of my friends know me by Shez (a nickname given to me by one of those friends. Thanks, Andrew). I rarely used it outside of that circle but now my corner of the world knows it.

Anyway, for those that need a tad more information about me, here ya go:

I am not a natural athlete. Running does not come easy to me. I learned how to run in the Army (didn’t have a choice). I continued to run when I left and ran for many years. I stopped running in the early 2000s – doctor’s advice and didn’t pick it up again until 2017.

I live in Auburn, California, home of the Western States Endurance Run, the Tevis Cup, Fourmidable, Way Too Cool, Canyons, and many more fabulous ultra races. We have some of the most beautiful and toughest trails in the country. 

Woman standing on dirt trail, hands on hips, with bridge in background

I am a *mature* runner that started running in this cycle of my life in the Summer of 2017. I had quit smoking in February and gaining weight was a real concern. I hopped on the treadmill, and at first, I did a lot of walking. After a time, I started to run. I live five minutes from a great trail system and we started hiking there. One day, I decided to run (in shoes that were not made for trails), and the rest, as they say, is history.

I run on trails, roads, and treadmills, and in the beginning, I was more comfortable running medium to long distances (13-20 miles). Funny how that changed after my first 50k!

I’ve run a few 10k’s and half marathons, a 25k, two 50k’s, and one 100k…so far. They’ve all been on some sort of trail. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about my time or place in these races, however, they were all fun.

Since running my first 50k and after a rather long embarrassing pause in writing, I have decided to once again write about my adventures as a trail and ultra runner. The journey continues.