Meet the Ultramarathoner Who Paints Her Runs

Hey there, I’m Rae. I’m a curious, creative, adventurous spirit, farmer, artist and mountain athlete among many other things! I call many places home. Currently, I live in Salt Lake City, but I've spent the last decade working in the coastal mountains of British Columbia. I grew up in Chicago, so I also consider that home.  

A typical week for me looks like a very calculated and carefully cultivated dance of energy conservation and expenditure. The days of the week are all a balance of long farm days, running and trying to get as much sleep and reading time in as possible. Runs for me typically happen on trails near my home or work either before or after those farm days. My long runs happen on my off days, and for those runs, I venture farther up into the Wasatch mountains or to the South Utah desert, which are both a true joy to explore! 

I started running in a more committed way when I had a string of injuries that kept me from climbing (previously my main mountain sport obsession). I’ve chosen to look at those injuries as a gift in disguise. Diving deep into trail running has added such joy to my life as well as a truly incredible community. Ultras were a natural draw – I am always inclined to want to see as much terrain as possible and to push in a way that ultras uniquely require.  

My process usually starts with sketches – ideally plein air sketches, but more often from a collection of photos and videos for reference. It’s not often that one photo holds all of the information about the landscape that I’m looking for compositionally, so my paintings are usually a compilation of a bunch of reference points that all come together to recreate the feeling of the landscape and the experience with it that I’m trying to portray. I will occasionally do studies before starting on the final canvas, but more often don’t have time for that and end up just going for it!  

I’m currently working on a few projects. These include a triptych of The Stawamus Chief in Squamish, BC, a painting of the Train Glacier as seen from a run/scramble I did traversing the Locomotive range in Pemberton, BC and a scene from a 70k run I did last summer traversing from Whistler to Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Gosh, there are so many parallels. The major two for me that drive my passion in all of these activities are connection with the land and the process and deep work required. One of the truest joys for me in running (especially ultra distances) is getting to experience so much terrain and so many different landscapes. There are all these moments and experiences that you get to have out there on the trails, and it feels like such a privilege and an amazing way to celebrate the beauty of this world. Farming is quite the same, though more intimate. You form such a deep connection with the land over the countless hours spent doing what’s required to yield the beautiful outcome.

For me, I'm driven to paint landscapes in an effort to capture and share this sense of wonder and the moments of beauty that I get to experience with the land. I also thrive in the process of my three passions (running, farming, and painting) – slowly stacking bricks. Sometimes you feel like those single bricks aren't getting you anywhere near where you need to end up, but ultimately the love for stacking those bricks is there, and all the hard work does often amount to something really incredible.  

Often, my mind is quite visually active; capturing scenes in my mind (additional to photos) that I want to paint later. I frequently paint scenes in my mind as I’m observing them as well by visualizing how I’d mix and layer color, create texture, how and what I’d emphasize in the composition, exaggerate or pull into the composition from other surroundings in the landscape. I often try to take notes either during or right after runs on the thoughts, feelings and impressions surrounding the landscape and experience that I want to work into the painting.  

Experiences with landscapes and connection to the land mean everything to me. It feels powerful to be able to share these experiences with others through the finished paintings I produce. The same goes for the food that I’ve grown. It’s always my hope that a small bit of my own passion and connection with the land makes its way to others.

There are so many people who trail run, farm and do art, but no one else approaches these activities in the way that I do, thinks about them and draws meaning in that way that I do because of the unique combination of experiences, philosophies and motivations that my journey has led me to. It’s ever evolving, but it’s something that feels empowering to me and hopefully to others as well, especially in a world where comparison can feel so difficult. It can make our experiences feel trivialized, but there's nothing trivial about the joy of the process that delving into these passions of life brings. Though there may be many people doing what you're doing on paper, no one else does it like you!  Experiences with landscapes and connection to the land mean everything to me. It feels powerful to be able to share these experiences with others through the finished paintings I produce. The same goes for the food that I’ve grown. It’s always my hope that a small bit of my own passion and connection with the land makes its way to others.

Hands down the Ultra Run Mini-Crew! For farming and running, it’s a game changer.