Melanie grew up in Huntington Beach, California, and despite living near the beach, she wasn’t athletic until a struggle up a hill at 19 made her start exercising. After years of weightlifting and home workouts, a friend introduced her to Obstacle Course Racing, but she never felt a sense of belonging. That changed when she discovered a local 50K trail race; she trained, finished, and was hooked. Melanie quickly progressed to running 100-mile races and was inspired to become a race director while participating in Aravaipa events. Her dream of directing races for Aravaipa in California has now come true, but she still has one goal left: to return to Western States 100 and finish what she started, vowing never to give up hope.