Name: Emily Michaud

City: Fortine, Montana

Profession: Teacher

Fundraising Goal: $500

Describe your event, including location, distance, goals, and activity type:

I am going to be completing the Le Grizz Ultramarathon. It is located in Polebridge, Montana right outside of Glacier National Park. It is a 50 mile running race. As far as time goals go, my only real goal is to finish the race. I have never run over 33 miles, so 50 miles will be a big jump in distance!

In a few sentences, describe your connection to U2FP, why you chose to run in support of U2FP, and whether you have a personal connection to spinal cord injury and paralysis:

I would like to run for U2FP to bring awareness to spinal cord injury and raise money for spinal cord injury. My friend, Jason Stoffer, has been doing long runs/bikes with me on his handcycle (he has a spinal cord injury) and he is such an inspiration! I knew he had done events in the past to fundraise for U2FP, so I asked him how to go about fundraising for this organization.

Is this your first event like this? If not, what else have you done?

This is my first event raising money for Unite 2 Fight Paralysis. This will be my fifth ultramarathon. I have done 4 50K races (31-33 mile races), but this race is 50 miles, so it is a lot longer! I have raised money in the past before for the St. Jude Marathon as well!

Do you listen to anything when you train? If yes, what?

I usually do not listen to anything while I train.

What are you most excited and/or nervous about?

I am really excited to see what I am able to do! I have been training and it will be really cool to see what my body is capable of. I am very nervous about the distance. 50 miles is really far and I am worried about finishing.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

In my free time, I love running, hiking, backpacking, taking my dog on adventures, kayaking, and traveling.