Amber is a public health nurse, and lives in Arden, North Carolina, with her husband Stuart.

The Southeast part of the country has caught up with New England and Colorado as one of the hotbeds of US mountain running. Like her home state, Amber aims to join the national ranks of mountain and trail runners. But unlike Colorado and New England, Amber has been running excellent trail races all winter long ... without having to wear snowshoes!

What keeps you going?

Running (especially on trails) is a big stress reliever. Running is my hobby, my passion, and the love of the trails, competition and the outdoors keeps me going. I love challenges and goals, and running feeds that need!

What's next for 2008?

I plan to run in a few low key road and trail races and then begin the Mountain Cup series with the Rock 2 Rock 10k. My big aim is for Mount Washington road race and then I may try the Berry Picker Hill Climb in Colorado and a few other races in the Mountain Cup.

Training Advice

The most helpful advice I have found is to listen to your body! After dealing with a back injury, I learned to forget about being a slave to my running schedule but to listen to my body and be flexible with the training plans. Balancing rest days with hard workouts, stretching, completing strength sessions, water running and incorporating rest periods throughout the year have been crutial to staying healthy. Realistic goal setting is another key to staying motivated and to creating the right training plans to be successful.

Sample Training Log

Sunday: Long trail run ranging from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours+
Monday: Strength & stretch session
Tuesday: 50 minute to1 hour run + Strides on grass
Wednesday: Second "long" run- 1 hour 4 minutes to 1 hour 12 minutes
Thursday: Strength & stretch session
Friday: Easy Run or water run
Saturday: Trail workout (alternating weeks of fartlek & tempo run) or Race