Episode 6 | Janessa Taylor on Race Directing, Training & Racing Competitively

by Nikki Parnell — April 24, 2020 — 📸: Teri Smith

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This week we talk with Janessa Taylor, a mom of three who co-owns Alpine Running, a trail race company out of Central Oregon. She’s a badass runner that has logged tons of miles, raced (and won) a lot of very competitive races and has some great adventure stories to share!

We first dive into the mom life aspect of being an ultra running mother. When Janessa was in the little kid years, training was a challenge – she’d have to get creative by running laps around parks while her kids played or swimming laps around them while they bobbed in floaties in the pool. But she raced a lot because she didn’t have their sports schedules to compete with. As the kids got older, racing became more difficult to fit in while training was much easier. There’s always a trade off with each stage of life. Stef and I are entrenched in the young years where you’re always watching the kids, trying to keep them alive. But when they’re older you worry about them when they’re out and about and if you are bringing them into adulthood the “right” way. Janessa mentions that the worrying can affect your training and energy whether you’re aware of it or not.

Through it all, Janessa keeps running. And when I say running, I mean hardcore running. She shares stories of her high school aged daughter pacing her at the end of a 100 miler (which we think is SO cool!) and how she was still more worried about her daughter and packing enough snacks for her than she was about running 100 miles. Apparently you never leave mom mode. Janessa, while so talented now, suffered and learned a lot in the beginning of her ultra running career. She’d race 50ks off of running once a week and would try to be “light and fast” by not carrying any water or nutrition, which led to some not so fun experiences. She quickly readjusted her techniques, started running more and gradually built up her volume. We talk about how she overcomes the inevitable suffering that takes place in a 100 miler. Janessa’s tips: be prepared by running 40-50 mile runs beforehand so you can be confident going in. Get in and out of the “low” as quickly as possible, take care of your body so you can feel better and continue on. Mentally break up the race into bite sized pieces – don’t think “I still have 50 miles left” but focus instead on just getting to the next aid station. We touched on DNFs and how painful they are for both body and mind; you learn the importance of finishing what you start and it makes the next race that you successfully complete so much more meaningful. 

 We also ask Janessa for her perspective on a barrier to many moms getting out and training for ultras, which is running alone in the woods for hours at a time. It can be uncomfortable and fears of animals or people can hinder anyone, especially moms from getting too remote when you have kids you need to get home too. Janessa says that thought of needing to get home to the kids is always in your mind if you’re a parent. However, she doesn’t let her fears stop her from going, but she’s a proponent of when you’re in a situation where you can choose between taking greater risks or seeing your kids again, make the good choice to err on the side of caution. She illustrates an example of this with a hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck raising story about a cougar incident she had. One thing she said, which we found to be hilarious, was how as an ultra runner you’re bound to run into an animal at some point, so when she finally was stocked by a cougar in the middle of the night she thought to herself, “Oh, I’ve been waiting for you. For five years I’ve been waiting for this moment, now how is it going to go?” Let’s just say that wouldn’t have been my reaction!

On to lighter, less life threatening topics. Race Directing! Janessa shares what it’s like to be a small, two-person race company in Oregon. It’s a place with a lot of events going on all the time and it’s hard to crack into the business, though Alpine Running is doing an amazing job of introducing runners to new, beautiful trails that they might not have known about before. They have 9 races between May and November from 7 to 100 miles, something for everyone. Obviously, this particular race season has been hard, as COVID-19 has caused races to be canceled or postponed. Race directors are feeling this loss heavily. Alpine Running went from never having canceled a race to canceling 4 in a row this spring. Janessa shares the hard aspects, what she misses about the races, and how she thinks we’ll see the effects of this virus for a couple years. But once we can all get back to normal, the great parts of being a race director will come back too – seeing the volunteers, watching the runners finish their race, feeling the race energy, witnessing an event come together and giving back to each of Alpine’s race beneficiaries will feel so good.

Janessa and her race directing partner, Trevor, are two of the people who heard Chase was running for 24 hours up and down Pilot Butte and responded to the call for support and ran some laps with him – Janessa running with him after work, Trevor between 1am-3am. They are truly pillars of the Central Oregon running community.

This conversation left Stef and I inspired to train hard however we can get it in, race often before the kids grow up and schedules get wonky, don’t let fear stop us from adventuring but make wise decisions when we need to, and sign up for as many races as we can once the pandemic is behind us.

We hope you enjoy this conversation with our friend Janessa Taylor! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to Run Hard Mom Hard wherever you get your podcasts. Bonus points if you rate, review, comment, and share with your friends! Thanks so much!

Show Notes

Nikki’s fave thing this week: Body Glide

Stef’s fave: Powerblock Dumbells

Find Janessa Taylor on Instagram: @smokeymountainrunner

Check out Alpine Running for awesome races in Oregon and Washington!

Janessa’s favorite race: Orcas Island 100 Miler

Janessa’s favorite meal: Rice Bowls with Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce Recipe: Heat all ingredients together in a small pot over low heat, stirring until combined.

• 4 TBS chunky peanut butter
• 3 TBS Tamari
• 3 TBS Honey
• 1 inch Ginger Root – peeled & minsed
• 1 clove Garlic – crushed
• 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Orange – juiced/squeezed

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