Amy Cameron

Central California Women’s Facility, the largest women’s prison in the world, now has an official run club! Last month Coach Leo and I went down to Chowchilla to meet our runners and lead our first practice; the women were beyond excited. Turns out they’d been hoping for a running program for years. So many of them run around their own “yards” because they know how much running improves their mental health and overall wellbeing. Now we run together. We took what we’ve learned with San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club and have applied it here, but in reality there’s a world of difference in the 2 prisons so we’re building a lot from scratch, including a name and logo voted on by the incarcerated runners. PACE Run Club is all about Progress through Accountability, Community, and Encouragement. The roadrunner mascot is just fun! Today at our second practice we had 17 runners for a 2-hr workout and have almost 40 cleared to participate next time. There’s a 400m dirt track inside (awesome!) so we’re already dreaming up events and races for the future. Speaking of, if you’re connected to a brand that might want to get involved with donating running shoes or apparel, there’s a need! No photos from the inside yet, maybe someday…

Coming out of social media hibernation for “race season” because it’s the best way to publicly thank the true friends and support systems who always have my back, not just in racing but life in general. So here goes! The Big Alta 50k last Friday was a scorcher, which is good for a season that’ll be almost entirely focused on Western States. As part of a training block, this neighborhood jaunt around the local fire roads was a reminder that heat is hot and hills are hard. For anyone who had to see me sprint down the sidewalk at the end to hold onto F7, I’m sorry, that must have been a sight. To ensure a more graceful finish on the track at Placer High in June🤞 thankfully this year I’m back working with Leo and the team at @enduranceptc on nailing my training and overall prep. Endurance is super data-driven, with regular testing and total personalization; they’ve been so awesome to have in my corner! Thanks @daybreakracing and @runfreetrail for a great event, @sail2ultra for the early crew support, @fooseworks for the late shift and all that ice, and the local community for coming out to support. 📷 @jamesholk

Huge congratulations to Endurance PTC coached athlete Amy Cameron @_akcameron_ for her 7th place finish in a stacked field at @javelinajundred 100 mile race in Arizona! This was Amy's debut in the 100 mile distance and she absolutely smashed it with a blistering time of 15:22:16! 📸 @tonywithasony

Javelina Jundred, hot damn. For my first 100, I cared most about running a race I could be proud of - control the controllables, don’t be dumb, keep fueling, and seriously, don’t be dumb. I know the days when everything comes together are rare, but this one did and I couldn’t be happier. F7 among some seriously fast women and a finishing time I didn’t think was real even in the last miles. Having a good day is so much more likely with the right people around - @sail2ultra the coach I still won’t call a coach and a crew chief who kept everything moving calmly before and during the race; @meganruble who got me started on this long running thing and who I talked to first at each crew stop; @upwardprogress who ran a steady lap 4 with me and made sure I kept eating; @cjwdelaplane who guided me through all the lap 5 traffic and played Crazy Train on his phone when we got close to the finish; and the @guenergylabs team - Supriya, Gabe, Emily, Maia - at the tent who cheered all day and danced with me at the finish line. You all made my day. And of course a big thank you to @tonywithasony who captured the moments, making us all look like pros. Now, who’s ready to ride bikes? (Slowly)

Ok I’m officially hooked. Another Western States in the books and I couldn’t be more proud - my GU Marketing Team worked their asses off to put together our biggest and best activations ever, our 4 sponsored runners gutted it out in the heat to get to that sweet finish line, I got to see friends at the Escarpment, Foresthill and Placer High track. And for the first time, we threw a disco party late into the night at Foresthill to make sure every single runner felt the love. We all embodied our t-shirts…NO SLEEP TILL AUBURN! This was my 5th Western States, which means I’m still very much a rookie here, but I sure do love it. Good thing we just extended our sponsorship to 2029!

Oh hey, where did the year go? Catching up with some first half race highlights… 🏃‍♀️Big Alta 50k in late March with Megan and Kyle. Cramped so bad in both legs with 2 miles to go, yelled like a crazy person, looked around to make sure no one saw, then carefully got to the finish. 9th in 4:38 🏃‍♀️Miwok 100k in early May with the allstar crew of Markham, Joelle, Isabelle (go Team Connolly!), Zac and Megan plus so many friendly faces on course. No cramping, perfect weather, great day. 2nd in 10:12 🚴‍♀️Wente 8hr MTB with Hannah in the 2-person cat. Camping with friends, HOT, and despite hitting a tree on my first lap 🤦‍♀️ , a really good time. 1st, because fast teammate 🔥 🐶 Bonus photos of Marlowe losing her little mind at Blackie (girl’s still got it) and Roz just being Roz. What’s next? 🤷‍♀️ but looking forward to it! Thanks for the photos! 1&3 @tonywithasony 2 @banta.visuals

The goal at Dipsea is always “don’t trip.” Made it through last Sunday and hung in for black shirt 23. For as nervous as I get before this race, I sure do love it. The community is wonderful, the history is rich, the women are CRUSHING, the vibe is so positive, and if you look up from the trail occasionally, the views are pretty stunning too. Even with the poison oak that’s now taking over my arm, I’m looking forward to next year (right, @tfredricks I’m looking at you)

What an incredible gift to have 2 friends willing to dive into adventures like this with me. Hannah and Jaimee, I love you two so dang much. Over a week of mtb racing at @bcbikerace on Vancouver Island, BC, we logged not only miles and miles of singletrack but also a bunch more memories of awesome, dumb, epic, and funny experiences together. We went in search of the best coffee and local ciders. We sat around discussing life. We packed, unpacked, and repacked the minivan. We did a million loads of laundry. As for the event, I was more of a “rider” than “racer,” as 6 months of running admittedly didn’t help my technical skills on the bike (praise be for fire roads where I could use my fitness!), but knowing that @hanzwood and @jaim4 were up the trail everyday made me so proud. As I rode along gorgeous trails with beautiful views each day, I alternated being in a state of awe with intense bouts of cursing at the occasional rock I was too scared to roll, roots that stopped me cold, and little wooden bridges that played tricks on my vision. If you had taken a shot every time I said FFS each day, you’d have been drunk for a month. A proper adventure indeed. My heartfelt thanks to @tmbequator @mikesbikes and @equatorcoffees for supporting us, @julianabicycles for the lovely Wilders (we got so many comments!), @velocioapparel for the most comfortable kits, and @girocycling for protecting our heads.

The band is getting back together for a week of playing in the dirt at BC Bike Race! I’ll be trying my best to follow all the advice I’ve been given, including “don’t crash” and “try not to break anything,” while these two shredders represent at the pointy end. Many thanks to @mikesbikes for the support, @julianabicycles for the Wilders (favorite mtb by far), @velocioapparel for making us look good on the bike, and @girocycling for keeping our brains safe.

Here’s something I’ve been finding joy and purpose in for the last several months, coaching and running alongside members of San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club. Every year, the guys embark on a training program that culminates in November with a full marathon, run in 105 laps around the yard. Today we pulled off the annual track meet, what an experience! Running a marathon is one piece, but the program is more than that. It’s about connecting with humans, training for a goal, and experiencing the power (and maybe even the awe) of sharing the miles together. Running has shaped my life, and it’s pretty cool to play a small part in it doing the same for these guys. The film about the club - 26.2 to Life - is now on Hulu so if you haven’t seen it yet, get on it!

Dipsea Sunday! The mantra this year was “run with joy,” coming into this emotionally exhausted and unsure of everything. I can say I did what I wanted - went out slow, smiled, and accepted what the day brought. Which, it turns out, was perfect weather, gorgeous views, and the love and support of friends. Thank you to the ones on bikes who rode out to cheer, the ones perched at the top of climbs screaming at me, and the ones running with me who shouted encouragement as we passed. I needed this. ❤️ Photos: @kim_gaylord @thirsty_hans 🙏

My simple goals for HI: hike, shave ice everyday, consume as much fish as possible. Mission accomplished and then some. Thank you @chezjenoh for making it happen and @jviolich for your generosity ❤️ I’m ready to go back anytime.