Meet Anna Mae Flynn | Professional Trail Runner for Hoka ONE ONE & Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anna Mae Flynn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna Mae, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve been running for myself since I started competing in the sport of running since I was 8 years old. Accomplishing racing goals often feels self centered. I’ve raced 100’s of races now, and am a professional trail runner for Hoka ONE ONE. After having won a prestigious 50 miler Lake Sonoma in 2019, I reflected on the accumulation of my running career, and thought this was it. What more could I do? Truly, the sky is the limit when you are driven in accomplishing your goals, but more than that for me it was the passion for the lifestyle I live as a result of the days, months and years of training I’ve put in. Thus, I decided to give back to my running community, and create an athlete centered mountain endurance coaching company. I want to assist other in discovering the wholeness of the lifestyle. The long term goal over the short term racing pursuits.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The road to success isn’t easy. When two paths diverge, you have the choice to take the high road or the low road. Whether it be my personality or yearning for meaning through evolution, I always take the high road. So arriving to this current moment as the founder of a coaching company and a professional trail runner, is the result of years of pushing my limits, and the accumulation of a lot of hard work.  I’ve certainly had my share of contorting mountains and slipping and falling my way down a scree field. But I always had the destination in mind; the constant pursuit of happiness through my meditative movement running practice. Now I’m here; I’ve arrived at my destination, and now I embark on a new journey with a team of coaches and athletes. Now we climb higher and together. There is so much power in community.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend Margo came to visit me in Marble in the winter, I would take her on a day trip to go AT skiing at Sunlight Resort in Glenwood Springs followed by a soak in the Iron Mountain Hotsprings. Glenwood is also home to Colorado’s most celebrated taco restaurant, “Slope in Hatch”. We would most certainly eat there post ski and soak. Other noteworthy outings would include a day trip xc skiing on Huntsman’s Ridge. There are so many locations to XC ski and AT ski. It’s hard to pick a favorite location. Just point and shoot;bound to find adventure here on the western slope of Colorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout my HS coach, Leigh Wallace, for being such a positive female role model for me in my developmental years. Leigh was all about empowering women. She did intervals with the team, suffered core work along side us and taught us how to crest the hills. Leigh was strong, and she believed that strength was key to success. There was nothing Leigh couldn’t do if she set her mind to it. I know that the foundational training I received under her coaching in my developmental years has set me up for my trail running career, and the creation of my coaching business. It’s so important for female runners to have female role models to look up to that are the epitome of health and strength.

Website: https://www.mountainendurancelife.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annamaeflynn/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amflynnrunner?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flynnannamae/

Image Credits
Randall Levensaler Nick Presniakov Ben Moscona