Petra McDowell

What are some of your lifetime running goals?:

I want to still be running when I'm 70. I want to do more multi-day expeditions and do a traverse of as many mountain ranges as possible.

Do you have a claim to fame?:

No.



Do you have any vices?:

I eat chocolate every day.

What makes you tick as a runner and in the real world?:

The beauty of Nature.

What drives you to run?:

The overall feeling of "Life is Good" that I get from being outside and running hard. Also, with two small kids, it is sometimes the only productive thing I feel I've acomplished in a day.

What is your favorite movie?:

I don't really watch movies anymore, except kids' ones. Kung Fu Panda was pretty good.

Do you have any nicknames? Explain:

No.

What's the longest you've gone without sleep? Why?:

36 hrs - traveling oversees with two kids by myself. There is no break.

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states,
which would it be?:

Hawaii.



What did you have for lunch yesterday?:

Bread with butter and tons of fresh garlic. I'm trying to fight off a flu bug.

If you could hook up a thought monitor to your head,
would you see pictures, hear words or would music be
playing?:

Lots of chatter that I'm trying to slow down.

What really scares you about trail running?:

I don't think anything is really scary. The overcrowding of races is concerning, mostly because it forces me to plan ahead.

If your life was made into a movie, what would it be called?:

Jack of all trades or how multitasking got it's name.

Where would you live if it could be anywhere in the world?:

In a mountain hut in Julian Alps, Slovenia

What's your worst encounter on the trail?:

Last summer in Bandelier National Monument I came around the corner right in front of the rattlesnake that was ready to strike. Cruising and feeling good beforehand, I tiptoed the rest of the way (7 miles), "seeing" snakes in every bush