I spent quite a few of my days in Montana driving around the middle of nowhere with Alexandra Alter (seen in photo above), feature writer for the Wall Street Journal. She was great company as we searched for stories and photos and video that might capture the essence of a race chock full of amazing stories, fantastic quotes, and some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Her story, following Team #28’s Kathy Roche-Wallace, is in Friday’s paper and online now.

As someone who has recently struggled to get my version of the race pared down to under one thousand words (see the October issue of Trail Runner), Alexandra’s version does a great job at capturing the many challenges a race like PQ Montana presented to racers. Go pick up a copy of the Journal at your local newsstand or read it online right now! Oh and be sure to watch the video. My left arm and camera make a cameo at 20 seconds into the film. Just don’t blink!

Iron Mom

Alexandra Alter follows a 47-year-old woman out to conquer 548 miles of mountains, snow and exhaustion.

By ALEXANDRA ALTER
July 25, 2008; Page W1

Big Sky, Mont.

Four days and 263 miles into a backcountry race and Kathy Roche-Wallace isn’t even halfway to the finish. She’s limping on a big toe that is infected and swollen. She has a purple bruise the size of a grapefruit on her left thigh from a spill down a mountainside. Her sweat smells of vinegar and ammonia, a sign her fuel-starved body has started burning muscle. |Read Full Story|