Greenbrier Episcopal private school teacher by trade, kitchen goddess by choice, lean mean running machine by nature, and photographer for fun, Gretchen McDonough is a woman with many interests and skills.

On March 14th 2015, Gretchen won the High Rocks Celtic Knot 5k, hosted by High Rocks for the 4th year in a row. She finished in 19:45, which is the fastest she has ever completed that course.

She tells us, “I was 100% healthy for this race, this year. I have been either sick or injured every time I have run it, until today. So I finally got to find out how fast I can actually run this course! My previous record was 20:12, which I achieved in 2013. Today, I ran 19:45. And I won the race for the fourth year in a row. It was the second time (2013 being the first) that I won the entire race. Second place was 20 seconds behind me. I felt strong throughout the race and was really excited to find myself able to give the race everything I had, with cooperative lungs.” She goes on to say, “I celebrate with a Guinness at the Irish Pub in downtown Lewisburg after every race, win or lose. Sometimes a Jameson on the rocks as well…”

She is an avid runner, competing in numerous races each year, ranging in distance from 5k to marathon. She enjoys running local races of any distance, but her favorite races are the half marathons that she runs not only locally in Greenbrier County, WV, but also afar. She has run competitively in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut, Vermont, and Tennessee. She has won the Beckley and Lewisburg half marathons for the past two years. Her favorite non-local race is the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in Roanoke, which she has run 4 times.

Gretchen credits her daily runs up the Lewisburg hills for her ever-increasing speed.

Stay updated with Gretchen and her running adventures at WV HILL RUNNER. You can also find her photography at GMCD Photography

Featured photo above by Scott Miller.

– LBSPY, March 2015