hey, I’m anna!

(“on-uh”, like “I’m on-a run!”)

I am a runner with a propensity for most things endurance. Originally from Teton Village, Wyoming — on the edge of Grand Teton National Park — I had the fortune of growing up with outdoor sports and big mountains at my doorstep. It’s no wonder that for like ten years of my childhood, I was convinced I would be a professional ski racer. I couldn’t see yet that I was clearly more aerobically gifted than I was strong, fearless, or anything else. Although I laugh now at the thought of racing around gates in a skintight speedsuit, I do credit my younger self for knowing this: being a pro athlete is the coolest thing in the world.

Fast-forward to the end of a very fun and lightly-decorated collegiate career at the University of Washington. I had anchored my Distance Medley Relay team to an NCAA record and had run some solidly fast times (particularly in the 1500m and mile), but somehow I had not managed to qualify for a single NCAA final and did not earn any first-team All-America honors. I had, however, surprised myself and others with a few notable performances at trail races during the summer months. After a 4th place finish at my first Mountain Running World Cup in France and wins in both the VK and the 11k at The Rut in Montana, I started to think that competing internationally in the mountains might be a pretty fun experience.

As I added “UW Track Alum” and “Master of Jurisprudence in Environmental Law” to my resume in the spring of 2023, I tried to figure out what on earth I should do with my life. Unfinished track business and exciting trail opportunity were a dangerous combination for my brain. Each wrestled for my attention as avenues to go all-in on one or the other, but not both, arose. I remember thinking, I would rather do neither than choose one. Track and trail had always been one and the same for me — they were just running. And everything had always “counted” as training for me too — biking, ski touring, yoga — even paddleboarding went in my training log. There was just one small problem: could you even be a professional all-types-of-running-plus-some-other-sports runner?

Enter Brooks. The brand that has since afforded me a more fitting version of my childhood dream, getting to do the things I love the absolute most as my full-time job. The brand that has not one single time failed to align with my vision for a career that doesn’t confine me to once space. The brand that helped me answer my post-grad, systems-defying, existential question with a resounding YES! You can be an all-types-of-running-plus-some-other-sports runner!

Just because others aren’t doing it doesn’t mean that you can’t. Maybe it really means that you should?

xoxo,

anna gibson