Runner to watch Maddy Hribar

I remember the first time I saw her. We were putting two teams together to run the Ragnar Florida Keys as an ultra. Typically, Ragnars are run with 12 man relay teams and two vans with each runner covering around 14-15 miles. We had enough people that wanted to run the ultra version for two vans with each runner covering around 28-30 miles. I had not known Maddy up until that someone suggested we add her to one of the vans. They sent me her Dailymile profile and we linked up. Her profile picture was that of an attractive, active young woman. I figured she would be a middle fast runner like most of our group. We did have some speed on the teams with Caleb Masland, Steve Spiers, Joe Marruchella, but the rest of us are what I would call “medium fast.” In preparation for the run, we all started keeping up with each others training on Dailymile. I would see Maddy’s posts and think, “Wow, she had a fast run today.”, only to see an even faster run posted next. Her workouts were impressive back then and have gotten more impressive since. Maddy can run fast and long.

What is more impressive about Maddy than her running is her personality. Maddy is fun and doesn’t take running too serious until she is running, then watch out and get out of the way. After the Ragnar, some of us started running the HAT 50k yearly. Every year I say to myself that this will be the last year I run it. Then I get an email from Maddy exclaiming she is signing up, and can she stay with us. Since I enjoy the post race party with Maddy and the crew even more than the grueling HAT course, we are happy to host. The post party is pretty epic so you may want to burn calories off in anticipation of the large quantities of food and beverage you will consume, so why not run the HAT. The HAT race has a sister event, the non-sanctioned event “The Uncle Grandpa Stupid 20 Miler.” It is much smaller, but the party is equally enthusiastic. One of the great things about Maddy is that she can have fun and crush races. Typical pre HAT 50k fueling is a bottle of wine before bed. The next day she will tear up the course finishing top three females for three years in a row.

Here is a little Q&A with the BAMF:

BITR: What do you do when you are not training?

Maddy: I work for New Balance, but if I’m not working or running I love going to the beach, and hanging out with friends.

BITR: What has been your biggest challenge so far?

Maddy: Race wise- UTMB was definitely the hardest to date. In general, I struggle with hill training, I live at the beach, at sea level, and we have some brutal winters, so I dont have the luxury of being on the trails year round, and I have to seek out hills to train for mountain races such as the alps.

BITR: What has been your favorite event?

Maddy: I love it when Port Racing (my team and group of crazy friends) gets to travel together to a race, experience a new city together and do something ridiculous. We all signed up for an Ironman last year, and rented a beach house and just had absurd amounts of fun. I also look forward to HAT 50k every year, the party before and after, and the people just make it one of my favorite events and the race is super tough. Leadville is probably my favorite 100 to date, but UTMB is a close second. I love racing, but I also really love the travel and the cities and friends that make the races special.

BITR: Do you have a favorite running partner?

Maddy: I love running with people. I run alone a lot, so any chance I get for a running buddy I take. Sean is obviously a favorite, but my sister Katy is also super fun because we don’t get to see each other often and it’s such a perfect time to catch up on each other’s lives.

BITR: What is your favorite shoe?

Maddy: Working for a running company is fun because I’m constantly wear testing, and so my favorite shoe is always changing. But currently it’s the Zante, I love the cushioning and how light they are.  

BITR: How can people follow your running?

Maddy: You can find me on Dailymile, though I’m not as good about updating my workouts there as I used to be. I love social media, so I always have pictures etc up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc… I am really trying to get a blog going but I struggle to write up races in a timely fashion.

BITR: What is on your plate for pre-race dinner (besides a bottle of wine)?

Maddy: Anything goes really, I can do a veggie burger and fries or a piece of fish and some pasta. There is ALWAYS chocolate cake and wine. Very important.

BITR: What is next?

Maddy: Next up is Rhode Island 6 Hour, a race that I have won the past two years, but the course record has evaded me. I am also trying to figure out my schedule for next summer, UTMB was a qualifying race for Hardrock 100 – so I plan to throw my name in the lottery  for that. I am a 4 time loser in the Western States lottery hahah so I’ll also put in for that entry again.

BITR: How does Sean (fiancée) keep up with you?

Maddy: Sean is a machine. He is primarily a cyclist, so when he signs up to run a marathon or a 50k with me, it amazes me that he doesn’t really have to train, he can just pull a 50k finish out and make it look really easy.

Running career highlights. At 32, this is just the beginning for this girl’s running exploits.

• 2014 Pineland Farms 50 Miler 1st Female
• 2014 Vermont 100 5th female 19:28 (sub 20 was the goal)
• 2014 Trans Alps Stage Race (First stage race, and first glimpse of how difficult real mountain running is)
• 2013 Hollis Fast 5k- Hollis, MA 17:31 (fastest 5k to date)
• 2013 Great Cranberry Island 50k- Maine  4th Female 3:57
• 2012 -2014 USATF NE Female Ultra Running Champion –Rhode Island 6 Hour
• 1st Female Celebration Marathon, Florida 3:05 (haha my first marathon win!)
• 2015 Boston Marathon 2:58:56 (SUB 3!! FINALLY)
• UTMB (40th woman, 21st in category. Easily the hardest race I’ve ever done. 39 hours, two nights, two mornings 30,000ft of climbing and descending.)

We love you  Maddy, keep tearing it up.