Living the Dream: Running with the StokeRidge Striders
I’d dreamt of living in the forested mountains of the Pacific Northwest since I was a teenager. I grew up in Michigan running on a few different trails in small public parks or along country roads. I felt limited by all the private property and dead-end roads, but I assumed that’s how most places parceled out their land. As my life took its twists and turns through college and my early professional career as an artist, always hustling to make ends meet by juggling jobs, freelance work, and teaching, my dreams of mountain trails faded into silence. I could sneak a quick run in before or after work on the sidewalks, but I constantly longed to be out in the woods — free and wild.
Diamond Peak, seen from the Dead Mountain trail running route
In 2016, my friend Nick introduced me to the mountains by taking me up South Sister, the third tallest peak in Oregon. It was a transformational experience. I saw runners on the trail and couldn’t believe that people could run up and down a trail with 5,000 ft. elevation gain. I became nearly obsessed with the goal of changing my life to one that I deeply enjoy, with more accessibility to nature and physically challenging experiences. I quit my office job and took up seasonal park rangering for Oregon State Parks in the summers. I moved into a little shared house in the Columbia River Gorge and dared myself to explore the trails further each weekend. I encountered loneliness on long hikes and runs, which percolated fear and imagined scenarios with wild animals. I tried out local peaks like Mt. Defiance, challenging myself to understand what physical feats the mountain runners were experiencing. I enjoyed the combined elements of mental, emotional, and physical moments one finds in the wilderness, relying only on myself to navigate and return safely down the trail. I learned about a lot of things the hard way: poison oak, running out of food and/or water, taking wrong turns, encountering unexpected snow, and breaking backcountry gear. I had re-electrified myself, and felt happier than I had in a long time.
Eight years later, after continually chasing those most delicious curiosities, I suddenly found myself living the dream my teenage self had imagined. This feels like achieving the ultimate goal: happiness. My husband and I now run our art practices out of Oakridge, Oregon. My little studio sits in the corner of his welding shop, which is surrounded by the incredible ecosystems of the Cascade Mountains. Vast public lands include hundreds of miles of trails in the Willamette National Forest. We share interests and a passion for nature with our community.
In 2024 I met Spencer Newell and his wife Tracy Hulick. Spencer has competed in triathlons with some of the most successful athletes of our time. He’s run ultramarathons around the world, launched his career as a trance DJ, and has conquered some extremely hard times of his own. Tracy started Kidney Donor Athletes after saving a stranger’s life and continuing to live a full and active lifestyle, such as climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. They are kind, energetic, and humble, and they are incredibly inspiring to me.
I remember the first time I tried to run the Dead Mountain trail in Oakridge. I was in late stage recovery from an ACL injury, telling myself that I would never take running for granted again as long as I live. I made it a couple miles up the trail and began wondering if I was crazy for even trying to conquer that beast of a playground. I kept going back, getting a little further each time, and celebrated my first summit with a good cry, moved at the beautiful view and a sense of accomplishment. Then I found out Dead Mountain is the first leg of the Triple Summit Challenge, a three-day stage race held by Elevated Racing Company. A gorgeous 40 miles of trail with a total elevation gain of approximately 8,000 feet, right in my backyard. So, I signed up that year—as an experiment, of course. I simply wondered if I could finish all three stages without injury, and what that experience would be like.
Barbara Cousil Burney running in the Triple Summit.
I spent months building endurance, strength, and courage. As in every official race, I considered the event of failing in public. Spencer showed up on day two to cheer us on as we raced up and down Larison Rock Trail. He coached me through some knee pain. On day three I crumbled in frustration on Salmon Creek Trail, unable to gracefully flow along any longer due to fatigue and unfamiliar physical boundaries. But, I finished, and I even went back for year two. Last year I improved my times on two trails and ran with greater overall confidence. Now, running Dead Mountain feels like an accessible treat on a weekend. I’m getting to know the trail as a familiar friend.
None of this would be possible without the community of people who show up in this little town of Oakridge. Spencer started a running group and began sending out weekly emails with two meetups open to anyone interested: trails on Tuesday evenings and track workouts on Thursday mornings. His consistency is unwavering. This accountability has changed my approach to training. Over time we have built up a group with a wide variety of experiences and skill levels. Our camaraderie has strengthened and brought even more joy to our lives. More daily stoke to be here, and on the trails, together. We voted on a name for the club—the StokeRidge Striders. Our community of striders includes those who have built trails, those who maintain them, those who use them, and those who have yet to use them. Since I started running with The Striders, I’ve felt a deeper sense of community and passion for running. I’ve even dropped my mile time by 70 seconds.
Our club focuses on meeting each other where each of us is at. We meet up, but everyone does a workout according to how they feel that day. Spencer offers training plans, but they are optional. The best part is witnessing the growth in each other. I’ve heard people say things like “I went farther up the trail today than I’ve ever been” or “today I ran three miles without stopping, for the first time in my life.” That is very exciting. Our opportunities for growth are infinite, and we are sharing these opportunities on the trails together in Oakridge.
I think Spencer and I both have a long term relationship with the healing powers of trail running. In the years I lived in cities, I’d retreat to the woods on the weekends to spend the day exploring and resetting my nervous system to make it through the next week. Making a habit of that has helped me cope through tough times and has grown me into a more resilient person. It has been so positive and effective for me, and I want to share this with others. It might not be easy at first, but every time you get outside your boundaries will expand, and one day you’ll look back at your past self from the top of a mountain and see how far you’ve come. Or how much farther you can go, or how much faster. You will learn to trust yourself.
A runner on the Dead Mountain Trail.
All photos courtesy of James Holk & Elevated Trail Racing