thumpista Stephanie: Faster than a speeding bullet.

In less than three months since joining us at thump, Stephanie has competed in seven running races, ranging from 5K to half marathon (placing 1st in two half marathons!), a  13-hour adventure race and her first-ever cycling race (placing 3rd). She said, “I would have done more, but I had a broken foot.”

A native of the Twin Cities, and a competitor in cross country running and nordic skiing since high school, Stephanie has gone straight through in school from kindergarten to starting her PhD without a break . . . until now. She received her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from Northern Michigan University, her master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Montana State in Bozeman, and started her PhD last year in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon. Somehow, she has also managed to travel to Switzerland and Italy and visit France eight times.  (She MUST BE a super hero….)

Stephanie was commuting here on the weekends from Eugene last winter to race with XC Oregon’s nordic ski team, so this spring she decided to move to Bend for a short respite and to enjoy the outdoor sports and recreation that all of us love so much. That short break turned into a longer stay when the opportunity to teach at Central Oregon Community College materialized this fall.

Stephanie observed that her students at COCC are a mix of age groups, ranging from fresh out of high school, to returning to school for possibly the first time in a decade or two.  This is a departure from the pre-med students she taught in previous years.

Stephanie is really ecstatic for this teaching opportunity, as this was what she aimed to do after completing her PhD. She intends to race again this winter with XC Oregon, both locally and nationally, and eventually to return to school to finish her PhD.

But hey, we’re thrilled she’s with us at thump, so what’s the rush?!