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Sandy Marshall
Sandy thrives off of living a full and multifaceted life! She gets up early to crush her intervals because by day she's a middle school teacher as well as the school's athletic trainer. Always seeking a new challenge, she's progressed from running and racing triathlons to mountain biking, tackling some of the toughest races out there in the Transylvania Epic and Breck Epic Stage Races. She's always open to new approaches and techniques that will help her improve, and I can't wait to see what she accomplishes this year.
"I grew up in Lancaster New York and moved on my own to Concord, North Carolina in 2001. My day job as a middle school health teacher and the school’s athletic trainer keeps me busy but I make sure I have time to do things that I love. Spending time with my best friend/love/riding-racing partner Mark, hanging out with my dogs, going to the mountains, cooking, running, and of course riding. My athletic career began as a runner and a triathlete. While I was racing and working to become a competitive elite triathlete, a major medical issue forced me to change my plans. The inability to train and race as a triathlete opened the door to other sports that I hadn’t considered at all in the past, like mountain biking.
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Mountain biking was scary, and I always said I would never do that type of riding because I preferred my appendages remain unbroken (Ha, ha!). Luckily my partner Mark convinced me to try it and although it was a rocky start (hee, hee) I was quickly hooked on riding single track. I was “all in” with mountain biking and within the first year (2013) I was competing in some local races and even convinced Mark to do a stage race with me.
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Since beginning just over 6 years ago my passion for mountain biking has not waivered. I am constantly working and trying to improve, I love how mountain biking challenges me not just physically but mentally. This year I want to further improve my technical skills, be more comfortable and confident in my abilities, overcome/conquer my fears, and push the boundaries/test my limits physically and mentally.
Mark and I have some new races (gravel) and some previously completed (Breck Epic) on the schedule for this year. I am always looking to try something new and improve on previous accomplishments.
Athletically, I am proud of completing my first and last Ironman (Lake Placid-2006), my first MTB stage race(Trans-Sylvania Epic in 2013), getting through and completing a Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (2018), and finally completing Breck Epic (2018). I am also proud and thankful for the ability to manage and educate around 400 students, keep over 350 athletes safe and healthy, and have some sort of work-life balance each day of the year.
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'If it makes you happy it doesn’t have to make sense to others.'"
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Follow Sandy on Instagram @bugaboosandy.