WE ARE GRP RUN

Susan Dunklee

Susan (she/her) is in her first year as the Director of GRP Run. She grew up running and cross country skiing at Craftsbury then went on to compete in both sports at Dartmouth College. She captained the cross country running team and helped the ski team win a NCAA team championship. Upon graduation she learned how to shoot and joined the US Biathlon National Team. She represented the Craftsbury GRP as a biathlete for over a decade, competing at 3 Winter Olympics and 8 World Championships before retiring from biathlon in spring of 2022. She is passionate about the importance of balance in an athlete's life and looks forward to supporting GRP Run athletes in their athletic journeys. As an athlete on the GRP she helped direct Outdoor Center races, created programming for Craftsbury running camps, coached Girls on the Run, designed single track trails and monitored water quality in Great Hosmer Pond. Her favorite running challenge at the moment is to run every mile of road in every town around Craftsbury.

Nigel Bates

(he/him)

School Williams College

Occupation Field Supervisor, Green Mountain Club

Running Highlights

Wins at the Batona 55 (2021), Bloodroot 50 (2021), Black River 45k (2019), and Tioga Pass Run (2018); top 10 at USATF 50k Trail Championship; FKTs for Owl’s Head, Camel’s Hump (Monroe Trail), Marston Loop in Baxter State Park, and the Vermont 4000 footers.

Nigel’s enthusiasm for trails began in the Berkshires during his time on the Williams College XC and track teams. After graduating, he completed a southbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, and then pursued a career in environmental education and conservation. Today, he leads the Backcountry Caretaker Program on Vermont’s Long Trail, where he enjoys helping people make connections between the beauty of the Green Mountains and the need to take action to preserve them today and into the future. Nigel relishes the challenge of moving as efficiently as possible through rugged New England terrain, but he also likes to slow down and appreciate the birds, plants, and other creatures that make these landscapes so special.

Canyon Woodward

(he/him)

School Harvard

Occupation Political Strategist & Author

Running Highlights
Cruel Jewel 100 Course Record Elite Qualifier for 2022 UTMB

Born & raised in the beautiful backwoods of Southern Appalachia and the North Cascades, mountain trails underfoot have been a constant for me ever since I took my first steps. I have been running as a means of play & exploration for most my life, frequently startling deer and foxes in the open meadows and farmlands near our home and ducking through forests of rhododendron to link up forgotten logging roads hidden deep in the mountains. I keep coming back for the grounding sense of connection - to self, others, and the land - that flows unrestrained on the trail, and which feels all the more essential amidst this digital world. It's those same things, manifested in a very different way, that draw me to the work of organizing for political change. With my dear friend Senator Chloe Maxmin, I'm the co-author of Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends on It, and the co-founder of Dirtroad Organizing, an organization dedicated to progressive rural organizing.

Favorite GRP Run Experience Getting to meet up with teammates in Craftsbury in summer 2021 was the best! Learning to shoot from the GRP Biathlon team, eating great food, swimming in the lake, running the dirt roads, visiting Bread and Puppet, and enjoying local beer and camaraderie around a huge bonfire with the other GRP teams.

Britta Clark

(she/her)

School Bates College

Occupation PhD Candidate in Philosophy

Running Highlights
2nd USATF 50km Trail Championships 2021
1st Vermont 50 Mile 2021
Pemi Loop FKT 2020

Alongside running, I enjoy skiing, biking, and cooking without recipes. I grew up in Vermont and presently live in Boston, where I am a PhD candidate in Philosophy. My work focuses on the ethics of climate change, and my dissertation aims to develop a framework for making climate policy decisions in deeply unjust and non-ideal circumstances. Once I finish my degree I hope to teach, ideally somewhere in the New England area.

Favorite GRP Run Experience Team training camp, especially the long dirt road runs, and I've loved having new friends to run with.

Elena Horton

Elena first fell in love with trail running as a four year old trying to keep up with her dad bounding down Mt. Mansfield in Vermont. However, without the mountains nearby in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, she grew up focusing her energy on ice hockey, which she played at Dartmouth College. It wasn’t until she hung up the skates that she returned to running, using it as a way of exploring new areas, relaxing in nature, and building friendships in Seattle, WA, where she lived after graduating. More recently, grad school brought her back to the East coast, where she lives in Boston with her partner, Will, and studies as a joint MS Engineering/MBA student. Outside of running, she loves to ski, bike, climb, and try to beat her family at the daily Wordle.

Notable results 1st at 2022 Sun Mountain 50k

Ben Feinson

School: Cornell College of Ag and Life Sciences Occupation: Student at the UVM Master of Arts in Teaching

Running Accomplishments: Supported Fastest Known Time on the VT Long Trail 2021, Unsupported Fastest Known Time on the Georgia Loop 2020, 2nd place finisher at Cruel Jewel 100 2022

Being raised at the foot of Camel’s Hump Mountain, playing in the woods and mountains brought Ben to competitive trail running. Longer and longer “day hikes” in the Whites and the Greens led to 50, and then 100-mile mountain ultramarathons. Ben is grateful to have found a caring and supportive community of runners across New England who love long days in the hills, and aims to push his limits while helping others do the same. Ben founded and co-directs a community running group called the Richmond Trail Running Club, who are hosting two charity ultramarathons events this year. Ben also teaches science, climbs rocks, and plays in nature every day!

Erika Fluehr

Erika grew up running in Florida (with summers in Michigan) alongside her twin sister. In high school, she was a 2x Foot Locker finalist and continued on to run cross-country and track at Princeton University. After graduating from Princeton, Erika used her remaining eligibility while at graduate school at the University of Michigan, competing on their cross-country and track teams. Since college, Erika moved to NYC for work at a software company and rediscovered her love of racing through half-marathons, marathons and road races. She qualified for the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2020 and lowered her marathon PR in 2021.

Now Erika lives in NJ and loves continuing to spend her mornings outside, setting new goals in running, and traveling to races.

PRs 2:39:29 Marathon

William McGovern

(he/him)

School Williams College (BA), Simmons University (MS)

Occupation Masters student in library and information science.

PRs
5km- 14:23 10mi: 49:50 Half: 1:07:23

William grew up running and skiing in Vermont’s Green Mountains, particularly in the mountains around his hometown of Stowe. He channelled his love for running into competing first for his high school cross country team and then for Williams College. Since graduating in 2020, William has been exploring longer distances both on the trails and roads. He is currently based in Boston, where he is pursuing a Masters in Library and Information Sciences at Simmons University.

Kat Morrissey

(she/her)

Kat was born and raised in Western Massachusetts, and began her running career in high school where she also played soccer and basketball. She attended Fitchburg State University where she played soccer and ran indoor and outdoor track. She holds the school record in the steeplechase as well and is a member of the school record DMR team. After college is when Kat really found her love for running. She ran her first half marathon at the Hartford Half Marathon and was hooked. After swearing she would never run a full marathon, she has now completed four and has a current personal best of 2:40:19 from the 2021 Boston Marathon. She runs anything from the 5k to the marathon, but the marathon is her specialty.

Outside of running, Kat hobbies include spending time with her husband and her two cats, working out at the gym, watching the Yankees, and coaching. She has her sights set on hitting the OTQ standard, and is excited to work with the other GRP ladies to do so.

PRs

Half Marathon: 1:17:53

Marathon: 2:40:19

Ericka Randazzo

School University of Connecticut; Vanderbilt School of Medicine

Occupation MD-PhD Candidate in the Vanderbilt MSTP

Ericka grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut playing soccer and competing in equestrian show jumping. She started running late in high school and went on to run for the University of Connecticut for 5 years. There, found success competing in XC and raced events from the 3K to 10K before moving to Nashville, TN for medical school. She hopes to pursue a career as a surgeon-scientist in sports orthopedic surgery and is interested in studying the mechanisms of osteogenesis and wound healing in the context of fracture repair. Post-collegiately, she is moving up in distance to compete in the half-marathon and marathon. Outside of school and running, she enjoys doing anything outside including water skiing, hiking, working with animals, skiing, horseback riding, and walking her cat, Ozzie.

Prs 16:44 5k

Jessica Scheriff

(she/her)

School Iona College

Occupation Litigation Paralegal

PRs
3k Steeplechase: 10:01
5k: 16:26
10k (roads): 34:45

Former Iona Gael with a passion for jumping water pits and vegan pizza. Originally from Long Island, NY, Jessica now lives in Denver, CO working remote full-time as a Litigation Paralegal. Jessica specializes on the track in the 3000 meter steeplechase and 5000 meters. In college, she was a four-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and multi-time NCAA D1 Championship qualifier in the steeplechase and cross country.

When she's not running, Jessica enjoys baking vegan goodies, hiking with her pup, Olive, and thrifting vintage clothing from the local Goodwill. Jessica has a MA in History and is still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up.

Favorite GRP Run Experience Jessica loves having the support to balance the things she loves while working a full-time job & training at a high level.