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Amanda Bonnie
I was never much for the long-distance stuff growing up, I primarily ran the 400 in HS and played softball where being fast made up for not being a great hitter. I was fastest on the team, but that is quite relative, and hardly fast at a competitive level. I played a bit of rugby in college and then moved to Los Alamos, NM for a job when I graduated. It’s a small science town built on a mesa at 7500’ covered in trails. It took a while before I realized thats where I wanted to be.
It wasn't until 2019 when I was on a business trip that I decided randomly to start running. I ran every day that month and hit my goal of 100 miles in a month. I really got into it but it still seemed like a fad - I ran a bit but the miles eventually fell off after running a handful of 10K or so trail races. April 2020 rolled around and we were already doing the WFH thing with COVID and a memory popped up on my feed from the start of that 100-mile month a year ago. I decided to do it again. Then came the internet of virtual challenges and me becoming absorbed by the whole trail running community. I found home. While I didn't have any in person races in 2020, I did find a way to finish 1071 miles for the year (with most of them being the latter half of the year). In October, I ran the YETI 5x4x24 challenge for the second time on my birthday and started to think about what if I ran a real 50K in one shot, like a real race. It seemed absurd. I mostly ran 5-6 miles with 10 being a long run. But the idea stuck with me.
By December I had queued up several runner gifts to myself – I got a planner and Moehl's book for running your "First Ultra". I picked a local race to target a date and set off. For 24 weeks I stuck to the plan like it was some sort of critical medicine to keep me alive. May 22nd 2021 - I ran my first 50K - the Jemez Mountain Trail Run. 32 miles, 6,257ft of vert. I finished 44 out of 92 overall and 11 out of 27 ladies in 7:58. I told my husband after the race, one and done and asked who's crazy idea this was. The next day I was already drawing up training plans for another 50K in November; and talking about how I could be faster next year in the JMTR, because I have to run it again...
Hometown: Los Alamos, NM
Real Job: Project Manager
Social Media: 
Favorite Beer or Wine: Dog Fish Head World Wide Stout (though I'm always changing my mind)
Guilty Pleasure: Modifying and driving cars
Other Hobbies: jetskiing; snow skiing; working on computers/jetskis; gaming and computer sh*t; running; hiking; being outside; detailing cars; washing cars; playing with the pressure washer...I'm simple to entertain perhaps.
Pets:1 amazing dingo (dog) and 3 crazy cats
Best thing about VFuel: Easy on the stomach - no gut bomb and quick 100 calories
Best recovery meal: Cheese Burger & Fries with a Moscow Mule
Favorite trail running memory: Getting lost on a single track (yes it can happen) - turned around too many times.
Schedule: So far...Jemez Mountain Trail Runs (50K); Up and Over 10K Trail Run (10K); Bull of the Woods Trail Runs (HALF); Pajarito Trail Fest (25K); Bosque Bigfoot Trail Races (50K); Hare Trail Race (7M); Goat (9M); Coyote (12M)
Any advice you want to share with a new athlete?: Just keep showing up! It doesn't always have to be what you planned for the day - just get out and do something!