Maggie Akyüz Interview

Maggie Akyüz likes em long and hard. Okay, once you are done rolling around in the gutter you’ll understand that Maggie likes a challenge. Just having finished her first hundo at Zion, she shares with us how an Eastie moved to the west coast with an appetite for adventure and kicking the @#%$ out of the bucket list.
Running Naked on Sharp Pointy Stuff

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16 Responses to "Maggie Akyüz Interview"

Mary Beth Alibrandi says:

April 30, 2013 at 8:08 am

This was fantastic. I’m Maggie’s mom and was at 1st in disbelief that she was going for the Zion 100 ! But, I know my daughter,and never was in disbelief that she would complete it and do an amazing job! We are all so proud of her and behind her (in spirit!) all the way.

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1. maggie says:
  
  May 7, 2013 at 8:36 am
  
  “i’m maggie’s mom”….haha, and my biggest fan! thanks, mom, for tuning in and keeping up on all the details leading up to, during and following the event. it was great having all your texts of support and good wishes read to me at each aid station while i sucked on those orange slices! thanks for your faith in me….oh yea, and thanks for covering my registration fee!:)
  
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krista cavender says:

April 30, 2013 at 8:46 am

Maggie is totally inspiring. It was a pleasure to pace her and be on her crew. She’s so strong and such a free spirit which I love about her. I need her mental toughness and badassedness (if that’s even a word). When we told her to “Lick it!” she did. She kicked this race in the face!! I’m recruiting her to pace me for my first hundo in September. Love that girl! LICK IT, BITCH!

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Charito Bartlett says:

April 30, 2013 at 9:32 am

Literally had nothing better to do at 1030 in the evening so i listened to the podcast. Glad i did. Well done!
Important issue that must me addressed immediately. Stella?!?!? As part of the Auburn Alehouse gang of misfits, you chose Stella (SMH)?!? We forgive you, its so much easier to point at something on the beer menu than memorize the name anyway, especially post (or is it after?) run;).
Regarding the woman issues, my husband knows my cycle better than I do, so I look to him to let me know if a race will be on rag day. Great job resisting the urge to drop to the ground, curl up in a fetal position, ask for Cheetos, and a warm blankie.
You were so PC when answering (or not) the pacer question. My forehead is still peeling from running (not pacing) with you, it was a 5 mile counseling session about your damn ETA chart then 6.5 miles of waving/talking to every single human being on the course, how you remembered everyones names and backstory, ill never know. So as we were running I thought to myself, “Maggie is so thoughtful to say i can run this section with her, she knows how i love downhills”, then BAM!!!! A ridiculous Cardiac-like climb, what a horrible reminder that my legs are half the length of yours.
Alrighty, rant must end. Way to kick Zion Hundo in the ass…. On the rag!
By the way, i vote Bryce100 2014 for Jen ‘s first hundo;) course looks rudiculously awesome.

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1. maggie says:
  
  May 7, 2013 at 9:10 am
  
  charito charito charito….you don’t miss a thing! hilarious.
  it was wonderful to have you there running alongside me (even behind me up the hill…hehe). and don’t underestimate what your presence did for me by saying you were “running (not pacing)” with me. i mean, after 30 miles, i had wished you girls were with me. yes, i met a lot of great people (memorizing names and backstories as u say), and had fun with everyone of them on course. but after awhile, you realize you’ve got a long road ahead of you (too much to run solo), and you just want your peeps with you. i mean, we’re all there in freakin Utah, and i’m running this stupidly gorgeous course…all i’m thinking is you guys need to be here to experience it with me rather than simply driving from aid station to aid station (which i know y’all were happy to do). i was missing y’all and i wantend you with me!
  so….when i saw you, bordem turned into excitement! you totally revived my interest in running another 70 miles when i saw your excited little self emerge from the red dusty road clouds.
  so don’t think you were simply running with me. you were pacing me. you paced my excitement and interest levels to stay high and strong. thank you for that:)
  as you know, i do these things solo. but having you girls there was the best decision i’ve made in running. your presence there was so invaluable to the success of this event. there is nothing i would have done differently (except for taping my ETA chart to krista’s forehead. lol).
  you all were ridiculously amazing, and i can’t imagine the next one with out my team of DirtyGirlz! (the next one??…hey now!)
  
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Patrick Delaney says:

April 30, 2013 at 10:58 am

Great interview Maggie! I’ve enjoyed your race reports from this Ultra, it sounds like a blast. See you on the trail (or road).

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1. maggie says:
  
  May 7, 2013 at 10:26 am
  
  trail (or road)…you got it, Pat! thank you for being part of some of my training runs:)
  
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Jen Hamburg says:

April 30, 2013 at 11:22 am

Maggie! And guys! I so loved listening to this podcast. Great questions, conversation and I loved that Maggie was so herself. Made doing my desk work SO much more fun. ;)) I was honored to pace Maggie out there in Zion and share in her experience. All in all, it was a BLAST and inspiring! I do not think you have seen the last of Maggie and her ultras…no matter how much waffling she does….she is a rock star. And as you can tell…she does things HER own way. I think we can all take notes from that!

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Morris Packer says:

May 1, 2013 at 2:55 am

Brilliant interview! Thanks!

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david says:

May 2, 2013 at 10:50 am

Great interview!

One question: What was the song that ended the podcast?

Thanks for all you do!
david

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1. eric says:
  
  May 3, 2013 at 8:04 am
  
  That’d be The Honest Truth by Typhoon.
  
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  1. maggie says:
    
    May 7, 2013 at 9:11 am
    
    perfect:)
    
    Reply
terry muse says:

May 3, 2013 at 5:23 am

That interview by far has been my favorite. I love her honesty and candidness. A topic that answered some questions I wondered about, but only a woman would understand. I hope you invite her back!!!

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1. maggie says:
  
  May 7, 2013 at 10:24 am
  
  Terry, thank you for your kind words. and you’re definitely right about it being something only a woman can understand. as well, i think it’s important to get it out there for guys to hear as well….especially the RDs.
  Matt Gunn, Zion100 RD, kindly responded to the podcast saying how my experience was a total eye-opener to him. It made him wonder how many women have had to deal with their period during a 100-mile race on top of everything else.
  who knows? maybe they’ll start stocking aid stations with tampons, heating pads and lower-back massage therapists! okay, that’s dreaming a little. i did joke with Matt, saying i’ll come back to run Zion as long as he checks with my cycle first before setting a date.
  but yea, it’s tough. yet, it’s valuable training….along with chilling downpours, getting lost…at night, having to ration your water on a blazing-hot day, and–but not limited to–running long distances with fresh blisters.
  but we’re women. we are super strong and amazing. we can push babies out of our bodies after enduring, sometimes, days of labor pain/contractions.
  all that to say, there’s not much we can’t handle. glad you enjoyed the podcast:)
  
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Matt says:

May 31, 2013 at 6:43 am

As a fellow upstate NY-er, I was curious about what marathon she did to start all of this… After some research, it looks like she completed my hometown race, the Wine Glass Marathon! So cool, a lot of people use this for BQ (Although it looks like she was 1 minute, 53 seconds off qualifying, not just 53 seconds…. I suppose we can let that slide).

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Rod Schoene says:

June 13, 2013 at 12:10 pm

I enjoyed hearing about Maggie’s experience on her Hundo! As I was listening, there seemed to be a familiarity to Maggie. Than she brought up Silver Falls Marathon…we went back and forth most of the race, chatted a bit and some how I finished about a min. in front of her although she looked in a lot better shape at the finish then I did! I’m the guy at those race’s that is closer to resembling a linebacker then a ultra runner. Maggie was easy to remember, even beyond mile 20 she seemed like she was having fun & put off a positive vibe! Great job on the 100!! By the way I have to agree with your friends….Stella? Next time your in the NW…sample the local beers, you won’t regret it 😉 Pacific NW Running rules & Beer is King!

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