Feb 20 2025 128 mins 1
Even though Maddy Reynolds was not a runner, COVID-19 spurred her and her homebound friends to start running around the limited area they were allowed to in their neighborhood in Sydney, Australia. On a lark, they decided to run their own marathon. Once racing resumed, Maddy ran an actual marathon. Then she was encouraged to try trail running and next racing. You can see where this is going. Maddy eventually took the risky leap, quitting her secure job as an investment banker to become a full-time runner. By 2023, successes started to accrue. After a runner-up finish in the Six Foot Track Marathon, one of Australia’s most prestigious races, Maddy was chosen to represent her country at the World Mountain and Trail Championships in Austria. Her crowning result for the year was winning the UTMB Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 50K. She followed up that ascendent year with a string of top-10 trail race finishes in 2024, including a win at the Trail de Lac d’Oô in the Pyrenees. Like any upward trajectory, there were bumps in the road. Maddy suffered a stress fracture in her calcaneus, or heel bone, following Kosciuszko. The most serious, though, was after she sustained a serious bacterial eye infection due to a contact lens mistake. Doctors considered removing her eye, but were able to save it, although her vision was severely fogged over. Amazingly, Maddy continued to progress despite very limited depth perception, certainly a huge impediment for a trail runner, leading to numerous falls, including a cracked kneecap. Just last week came a double-dose of positives. First, Maddy’s doctors got her a new kind of contact lens that has restored her sight. A truly “Holy Crap, I can see” moment. Ironically, it’s the same kind of lens that has also salvaged my vision. Using her new visual acuity, Maddy finished second in New Zealand’s UTMB Tarawera Ultra-Trail 52K. Although the race buildup did not go without some crazy, maybe even hilarious, hiccups, as you’ll hear. None of these incidents can deter Maddy, who explains the big chance she took on herself, and led her to move to France with her boyfriend to advance her career. She is a font of positivity, and feeds upon the community that is running. She has some huge days ahead of her, and we had a very fun and engaging chat, so I hope you’ll enjoy this and follow her as she establishes herself as a force in the trail running world.
Maddy Reynolds
Instagram @maddyreynolds98
Bill Stahl
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