Bethany Patterson | Finding Time For the Trails

Bethany Patterson started her running career when she took David Horton’s ultramarathon class back in 1999. (Here’s our interview with the good doc from 2013.) From his class, she learned where to run, how to run, and he supported her throughout her upcoming races around the country. Here’s a great video that shows her time at Liberty University and how she’s grown.

After graduation, Bethany had a meteoric rise in the sport which saw her run and win some of the biggest ultramarathons in the country. She was picked up by the OG Montrail/Pagagonia Ultra team, and was putting her hyper-competitive drive to good use.

In 2004 Bethany headed to Western States where she had a DNF caused by what she described by mental pressure and took some time to reflect.

The next year, Bethany married and soon after started a family with her husband. Now faced with raising a family, her training changed and she’s adapted through the years to roads, treadmills, and using what mom energy she’s got to tear up the trails in Virginia and around the country

In this interview, we talk about her recent podium at Hellgate, what it’s like running with frozen eyeballs, her return to Western in 2016, and why she’s confident her best years are still ahead of her.

Bethany Patterson Episode Notes:

Here’s more on Hellgate 100k.

Here’s more on ultramarathon-associated visual impairment and here are two URP episodes that detail the phenomenon: Courtney Dauwalter and Chuck Radford.

Bethany mentioned the interview with Sabrina Stanley as an example of someone who is competitive like she is. Here it is.

Here’s the Gingerbread Stout from Hardy Brewery.

Episode Sponsor: XOSkin Socks and Compression Gear