Running Everest: Holly Zimmermann 04/01/2020

Holly Zimmermann - Running Everest


In 2018, Holly Zimmermann was the first international female to
finish the Mount Everest Marathon. That’s right; a marathon. On
Mount Everest. Additionally, she has completed the 257-km (160
mile) Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert as well as a
marathon at the Polar Circle. 


 


Born in Providence, RI, the middle child of three girls, she was
active in team sports including soccer, softball, gymnastics,
basketball, field hockey and even cross-country running (although
she despised running then!) She received a Bachelor’s Degree in
Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Aerospace
Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1991, then at
The University of Rhode Island she acquired a Master’s Degree in
Mechanical Engineering concentrating in the thermal sciences, and
finally finished her education with a Master’s in Business
Administration (MBA) at The College of William & Mary. She
then worked for several years in research and development for
military applications including antenna and radar jamming systems
for tactical fighter aircraft (F14s, F15s) and later acoustic
damping for submarines. 


In 2000, she moved to Germany with her Berlin-born husband with
whom she has four children ranging in age from 12 to 18. With the
birth of her first child, she gave up her technical pursuits and
turned to sports and writing, while raising their children and
working part-time at home as an editor for technical professional
journals. 


Today she is an athlete in the world of extreme sports, from
mountain and desert ultras, orienteering, endurance bike and
expedition adventure races to running a marathon on the Arctic
ice sheet. Aside from running, one of her passions is motivating
others to be active, and she encourages them by speaking in
companies, at sporting events, in women’s groups and at charities
or by volunteering in schools where she trains kids to take part
in local races. Her first book, Ultramarathon Mom: From the
Sahara to the Arctic, was released in April 2018 and her second
book Running Everest: Adventures at the Top of the World in April
2020.


Holly doesn't claim to have any better-than-average athletic
ability but believes her passion for running and strong mental
focus are what give her the drive and ability to compete and be
competitive in long-distance races in extreme environments.
Becoming a role model for other women has taken her by surprise,
but she attributes it to being a regular woman that many can
relate to, someone who does the cooking, cleaning and child
rearing, but just happens to have an adventurous spirit that puts
her physical and mental limits to the test.


Questions Holly is asked:


2:27 How is life in Germany for you now during the CV19 pandemic?


3:42 Are you still able to train?


4:08 Why did you want to do the Everest Marathon?


5:41 What was the terrain like compared to a traditional
marathon?


8:03 What was training like for that?


8:59 Did everyone finish despite their altitude sickness?


9:55 What were some of the surprises that you didn’t expect on
your trip?


11:33 Can you talk a little bit about how training for big
adventures fits in with family life?


13:12 Does your husband run, too?


14:01 You've said that your strong mental focus is what gets you
through races in extreme environments.  Can you talk about
how to develop this?


15:43 How did your passion for running grow?


16:38 What advice would you give other parents who have young
children at home that are searching for a passion of their own?


17:39 What advice would you give someone interested in running
Everest?


18:17 Can anyone just sign up and run it?


18:50 What did you learn about the culture when you were there?


20:11 Are you a plant-based runner?


21:39 Did you notice a difference when you started adding in a
little dairy?


22:28 What do you eat when you are in an ultra race?


23:51 Do you make your own oat milk?


24:07 What gear is essential for starting with ultra running?


25:20 What is next on the horizon for you?


26:24 What advice would you give yourself back when you started
running?


27:21 What is the best gift running has given you?


29:44 How can people connect with you?
Quotes by Holly:

“There’s a lot of rocks, there’s some climbing, but that’s not
the most difficult part because I run a lot of trail races here
in the alps and they’re very similar in terms of the terrain, but
what IS difficult is the oxygen. At the start of basecamp, we’re
at 17,000 feet and you have about 50% of the oxygen as you do at
sea level.”


 


“When you’re up there in the Khumbu Valley you see the rescue
helicopters coming in and out all day long. And I think that’s
not really heard so often in the western world, how dangerous it
actually is and we witnessed quite a few visitors to the region
who were evacuated. And it looked horrible.”


 


“I’m lucky enough to work from home, and that gives me the
flexibility to spend some time training when my kids are at
school. So usually I do that first thing in the morning and train
nearly every day from between 1 and 4 hours.”


 


“A lot of it has to do with passion. If you don’t love what
you’re doing, it’s hard to force yourself to do it.”


 


“If somebody else has done it and you have a desire and this
drive there’s no reason that you can't’ do it yourself.”


 


Take a Listen on Your Next Run!


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Mentioned in this podcast: 

Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community


RunnersConnect Facebook page


Mount Everest Marathon


Marathon des Sables


Book: Running Everest: Adventures at the Top of the World by
Holly Zimmermann


Book: Ultramarathon Mom: From the Sahara to the Arctic by Holly
Zimmermann


 


Follow Holly on:


Holly's Website


Facebook


Instagram


 


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