No Excuses, just Determination! My Journey Up and Down (X3) a Mountain.

No excuses.

Shannon’s February update

If you’ve been following my journey, you know that in early February, my friend Michelle and I took on the Running Up for Air race—a grueling challenge to ascend Grandeur Peak in Salt Lake City as many times as possible in six hours. Each climb? 2,600 vertical feet over 6.4 miles. Our goal: three laps. That meant 7,800 feet of climbing and descending, covering 19.2 miles, from 7 PM to 3 AM.

And guess what? We crushed it.

Our journey wasn’t smooth. It didn’t go as planned. But it was one of the most rewarding physical goals I’ve accomplished since retiring from Olympic competition. Here are my three biggest takeaways:

I Adopted a “No Excuses” Mentality

For months, my training had been amazing! Lots of trips up and down mountains with my dogs and friends. I even mixed in a good amount of running. But about three weeks before the race, my IT bands and outside quad muscles revolted. Climbing was fine, but descending? It felt like hot pokers stabbing my knees with every single step. Even slow hikes were unbearable.

I stopped training completely in hopes my knees would heal. I even started physical therapy, but nothing helped. Then, six days before the race, I came down with the nastiest flu I’ve had in a looooooong time. I didn’t get out of bed until a day and a half before the race. My goal of three laps suddenly felt impossible.

But one thing kept me going—something that helped me chase Olympic medals: NO EXCUSES. Not “my knees hurt every step,” not “I’ve been sick in bed for four days,” not even “I haven’t trained and don’t think I have the stamina.” No excuse was acceptable. And with that mentality, I went into the race knowing I’d accomplish my goal.

The first climb felt great, but descending was excruciating. I tried running, but the pain was unbearable. We made the tough call to walk down, knowing it would slow us down but give my knees a chance to survive three laps. It was the right decision.

At the bottom of our second lap, I felt deep in my gut that my knees couldn’t handle another 2,600 feet of descent. But I told Michelle, “Let’s just go back up to my favorite tree, then we’ll reassess.” Then we made it to the tree, then the birdhouse, then the first switchback, then the overlook… goal by goal, we made it to the top.

At 1:45 AM, they were blasting Friends in Low Places at the summit, and we felt on top of the world. But the hardest part was still ahead—getting back down. I used my poles like crutches, walked with my legs straight, toes pointed out, and tears in my eyes. But nothing was going to stop me.

At 3 AM, we crossed the finish line. We did it. Because no excuse was good enough to quit. You can pivot, you can adapt, but YOU. CAN. NOT. QUIT.

You Can Dig Deeper… When You’re Having Fun

I believe in fun. You know that! But I also believe in sparkles, tutus, lights, bright colors, and smiles. And Michelle? She brought her A+ ‘fun game’ to this race.

We showed up in light-up tutus, I had a light-up hat, we had sparkles on everything, and our smiles were huge. That mindset changed everything. We cheered for everyone we passed. At first, people thought we were only doing one lap, but as we kept showing up, they cheered for us.

Even when I thought about how far we still had to go, I’d look down at my glowing tutu and sparkly number bib and remind myself—doing hard things is awesome, and looking silly while doing it is even better.

Doing Hard Things Builds Character

When I signed up, I had three options for the 6-hour race: a 7 PM, 6 AM, or noon start. I chose 7 PM. Why? Because I was afraid of the dark, afraid of freezing to death, and afraid of getting eaten by a mountain lion.

And you know what? Those fears ended up being the best part of the race.

The darkness was peaceful. The stars at midnight were magical. The headlamps of other racers lit up the mountain like fireflies. And—spoiler alert—no mountain lions ate me, and I didn’t freeze to death.

We don’t grow when we stick to what’s comfortable. Growth happens when we push past our limits. That’s where you find confidence you didn’t know you had.

Michelle and I didn’t win. We weren’t even close. But we showed up, put in the work, overcame obstacles, and achieved our goal—in tutus.

Now that’s an adventure I’ll never forget. Bring on the next one!

Quote of the Month

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”

What’s Next?

I am super excited to share that I am FINALLY ready to level up the mental game for youth sports athletes! I’ve teamed up with fellow Olympian Doug Lewis, and we’ve spent the past year creating an incredible program for clubs, teams, and coaches to help young athletes develop essential mental skills—ensuring they thrive under pressure and play to their full potential!

Our website is still under construction, but if you're part of a spring sports team and want to help your athletes build their mental edge over the competition, let’s gooooo!

Reach out to doug@championsadvantage.com for the next steps!