Mary Jo Campbell

“Sweat is the champagne of your endorphins”

City: Colorado Springs State: CO

Favorite Shoe: Montrail Hardrock Size: 6.5D

Age: 56.4 years old

Marital Status: Married

Family members:
Husband, Tim
Son, Dylan
Daughter-in-law, Kate
Daughter, Tessa

What I do for work:
Answer emails and phones for a local ministry.

Places I’ve called home and why I like where I am now:
Devils Lake, ND; Grand Canyon, AZ; Gunnison, CO

Colorado Springs has the best summers and no bugs!

When I started running and what got me started:
In college - wanted to do a 5K.

What does running mean to me:
Quickest way to burn calories with a busy schedule; perfect opportunity to explore area trails, meet new people and accomplish training goals.

Running accomplishments: View my Pikes Peak Ascent/Marathon results
3rd place in age group in 2004 Triple Crown of Running. Finished my first Pikes Peak Marathon in under 8 hours.
Continued to hike the Incline and run/walk down Barr Trail during summer of 2006, despite going through cancer treatments and having a bald head under my Incline Club baseball hat. =)

What I like about trail/mountain running:
Nice on the knees, great views, something new around every corner and no cars.

Favorite running trail and why:
Garden of the Gods perimeter and valley trails. The hills are steep but short, easy access year round and you can do a different combination of trails every time.

Favorite trail/mountain race and why:
Barr Trail Mountain Race. Always challenging, get to see lead runners on the way down, nice to breathe easy on the final miles.

Best running experience:
Morning Garden of the Gods training run over to Glen Eyrie and up Queen's Canyon. Seeing a waterfall before having to go to work is a sweet way to start the day.

Worst running experience:
Doing my second leg of the Colorado Relay in 2002 (?)...9 miles of downhill on mostly paved paths and roads - at night on Vail Pass. Couldn't find the trail markers, no other runners were around, the lights from 18-Wheelers were blinding when the trail was next to I-70 and my quads got trashed due to the hard surface. Could barely walk and still had another leg to run in a few hours. Ugh.

Neatest thing found on a run:
My sanity.

Running pet peeves:
Hydration systems that bounce around or chafe the skin; wearing wrong clothes for the conditions. My propensity to sprain my ankles and ruin a good running base.

Something non running related that no one would guess about me:
I'm one of 10 kids and used to fly airplanes.

Other hobbies and interests:
Cycling, hiking 14-ers, watching gymnastics meets, baking healthy cookies and muffins, drinking great wine with an awesome dinner.

Other stuff:
Just because you are healthy, fit, don't smoke, eat organic, take good care of yourself and have no weird symptoms does NOT mean you'll never get cancer. Get a regular exam and agree to those stupid tests your doctor recommends so you'll catch tumors, lumps, etc. early. Cancer is no respecter of athletes.

Page last modified: 7/14/2007