World Mountain Running Association women's gold medalist and former Utah All-American Grayson Murphy, a Saucony professional athlete, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to reflect on her second-place overall finish, including being the fastest female competitor Sept. 26 at the Jim Bridger Trail Run in Bozeman, Mont., along with discussing her preparation for the Nov. 7 Moab Trail Marathon in Utah, in addition to a Dec. 16 road half marathon. Murphy shares how she has learned to adapt and be creative in her workouts during the pandemic, despite training mostly by herself with guidance from coach David Roche. She examines how beneficial cross-training has been in recent months, most notably incorporating a consistent amount of bike riding into her schedule. Murphy speaks about the importance of maintaining positive mental health, especially during such an unprecedented year in her career. She reveals how therapeutic and significant her recent blog entries have been and the value that remaining connected with nature has provided, especially during her mountain running. Murphy expresses how she has turned her resolve and determination into a superpower, emphasizing the importance of accountability and self-reliance in order to complete workouts and achieve goals, instead of being dependant on validation from outside sources. She appreciates her opportunities to train with Colorado graduate and recent ASICS professional Makena Morley, along with reminiscing about her recent vacation to reconnect with former New Mexico standout and HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite athlete Alice Wright. Murphy wants to embrace being a role model and ambassador for aspiring young mountain and trail runners to help mentor more elite competitors in the United States in the hopes of developing future international medal contenders. Murphy explains the details surrounding her recently released 2021 training logs and daily planners, and how sponsors like Nuun Hydration are offering incentives for the first 100 purchases. She also looks ahead to a week-long project in late November and early December where several of her sponsors will be partnering with Murphy to offer more giveaways.