SALT LAKE CITY — Next to running, smiling is her favorite sport, and Ashley Paulson of St. George smiled all the way to her second consecutive win at the Deseret News Marathon Saturday. What makes this win even more incredible is that just 11 days prior, Paulson broke the female record for Badwater, which is a 135-mile race through California’s Death Valley.
That feat alone had some of the most seasoned ultra-runners scratching their heads wondering how someone fairly new to the world of ultramarathons could do such a thing while keeping a smile on her face. After all, Badwater has been called the “toughest footrace of all time,” with runners exposing themselves to 120-degree temperatures and beyond throughout.
Paulson’s older sister Tracy Heywood has spent countless hours logging running miles with her sister, not to mention a childhood together, and she said her sister has always chosen to smile even in the face of pain.
“I remember when we went to Lake Powell as kids, and our dad just threw us in the water because that’s how you learned how to swim back then. When the rest of us were struggling to get back to the boat, Ashley would just pop back up and laugh and laugh,” Heywood said.
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Written by ARIANNE BROWN, KSL.com
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