Our guest this week is Abi Moore, Brand Manager for Fernie Brewing Company and Founder of Stag Leap Running Company. At the time of recording, we’ve just completed Abi’s gruelling Tears and Gears event, and we sat down to chat about her journey to Fernie from the UK as well as her journey of falling in love with running.

Abi first started running while living in London. At the time she worked with an interactive media agency and her role involved a lot of “interactive meetings” (ciders at the pub!) and the running became a measure to offset the amount of time she spent at the pub in those meetings. Growing up she skied lots with her family, but with a serious lack of ski hills they would make the trip to France to get on a proper ski hill.

This passion for skiing played a big part in her decision to move to Fernie rather than “somewhere warm like Australia” as Mark puts it. At the time Fernie was just getting onto the map as a great ski town and Abi spent her first year working guest services at the ski hill and met her now husband in her first winter. She alter sought an extension on her work visa to stay and work as a ski instructor, and later started work with Fernie Brewing Co. in 2009. In the ten years she’s spent at the still family owned and operated brewery a lot has changed, but Abi says that’s what she loves about her role: you never feel stagnant, and there’s always changes afoot!

Abi’s passion for running didn’t come quite as naturally as as her love for skiing, but her husband running the Sinister Seven inspired her (along with the help of a few drinks!) to join him and register for the run in 2012. Since then her love for running has grown so much she wanted to share it with others and help grow the running community in Fernie, so the Stag Leap Running Company was born. Named for one of Abi’s favourite runs at the ski hill, Stag Leap Running Co. is known for organizing events such as the Lone Wolf - a last man standing running circuit that ends with a Fernie Brewing Lone Wolf IPA. To Abi the link between running and mental health is clear: “You never regret a run … It always makes me feel better!"

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Stag Leap Running Co.
Fernie Brewing Co.