A note from Freetrail: You know Ellie Pell from the Freetrail Fam Pod, but did you know she has an insatiable need to get to know you, and I mean REALLY get to know you? Like, what’s your favorite kind of cheese? “You Made it Weird” is Ellie’s brainchild because while she loves that these athletes are mega-talented she also wants to know what ELSE IS THERE?! Look for You Made it Weird every Friday.
You Made it Weird With Jazmine Lowther
Jazmine stormed into my orbit taking third ahead of my fifth at the 2022 Chuckanut 50km before going onto win the Canyons Endurance Runs 100km a month later nabbing a golden ticket into Western States. Both being newbies, I think we formed some sort of long distance online friendship that I wouldn’t call regular, but reliable when either of us wants to understand “higher tier” trail running. While an injury kept Jazmine from cashing in her golden ticket she did manage to grab a fourth place at CCC later that summer. Since then she’s had ups and downs that mirror my own so I feel an investment in her success. I love someone who gets knocked down again and again and gets back up, smarter each time. Jazmine is a bundle of energy and brings a fun freshness to the trail running community. Catch her TODAY at the Broken Arrow Vertical Kilometer!
Find Jazmine on Instagram, Strava, and Ultrasignup.
Who are you and what do you do?
Heya, I’m Jazmine. I love all types of movement from running, biking, and climbing. I’m usually between Canmore Alberta and Nelson British Columbia. I run professionally for The North Face. I also coach and freelance on all things running:) Say hi anytime!
How many hours of sleep do you get per night? What are your nightly habits around your sleep (or lack of sleep…what things keep you up at night?)?
Wow, it’s like you guys know me too well!! I’m a sleep diva aka light sleeper who loves their precious sleep hours. Every year, I seem to add another bedtime habit. Hahaha, everything possible, from an eye mask, ear plugs, pitch black, white noise, you name it.
Usually, what keeps me up at night are super stressful work weeks (I tend to take on too much, it’s a work in progress), travel, and sometimes a workout too close to bed.
Do any of your group chats have names? If so, what are you willing to share? How did they get that name? What is a major topic of discussion in them?
Hahah oh boy – well, my most recent WhatsApp chat is The North Face Felines. Basically, everyone on the team with cats shares photos of their cats and meow a lot! #NFF check it out;)
If you could change one thing about your favorite social media platform, what would it be?
Ohh, toughie, I usually would have said strongly Strava, but I’ve also enjoyed hiding on Strava for the past year… I’m slowly coming out of my shell. But they could add a function that hides strength training or whatever types of activities you don’t need to see from people and vice versa…
What is a book of fiction that you really enjoyed, for no other reason than you liked it?
I rarely read fiction (sorry, boring), but one that has stuck with me was “The Courage to be Disliked.” I might break the rules here and say I liked it for the lessons it told. Don’t get caught up in things; be yourself!! You choose how you want to feel if you’re dealt poor cards. It’s very empowering.
What is one song you’ve been listening to on repeat recently?
Haha, I’m hooked on this cheesy pump-up song, works for workouts like a charm: “Let Me Hold You” – Netsky, Hybrid Minds, Grafix Remix
What is one trend that started in 2020 that you love?
More people actually sneezing into their elbows (not hands) and normalizing sick days.
What is one trend that started in 2020 that you hate?
Normalizing less face-to-face time. Did COVID accelerate the loss of 1:1 contact time?
What are the last three emojis you used?
😝🔥🥲
What is the last thing you bought online?
Running Rewired II by Jay Dicharry – highly recommend it! Movement patterns for runners are highly underrated in the trail world.
What is your most controversial food opinion?
Ohhh sheesh…I might get kicked out of Canada.
I stopped putting maple syrup on pancakes. Yup, I know. It’s sad, but also, I realized it’s just not necessary! And I don’t get a wild sugar crash after. Yeah, save me some for the special occasion;)
What three videos are at the top of your YouTube recommended homepage?
Yikes, getting into it, eh?!
Alright, A random physiotherapy video talking about some new exercise I should be doing.
I’m totally getting caught red-handed.. House of the Dragon. Yup, guilty pleasure. But I just love dragons and ladies who fight!!
Tour de France: Unchained Season 2!! So stoked. It’s the best series on athletes. (Side note: I’d love for a similar series on ultra runners).
Which Allie is your favorite?
Allieee Mac! I haven’t met her. But she’s having a good time out there going speedy and flying!
What argument in mass media do you not understand or think is a worthless issue?
Oh man… There’s so much misinformation these days… Mostly the “I’m right, and everyone else is wrong” mentality. We all need to sieve the information we receive and apply our environment’s context to what we learn. Professionals are giving out band-aids or mass messages to people, too, but it’s often harmful to a portion of their audience. We are all individuals and humans are complex creatures!
When you go home for the holidays, what is the food or tradition that it wouldn’t be the holidays without?
Oh, heck ya. My brother’s been adding bacon to our turkey for the last few years, and it’s yum. And my mom’s stuffing, where do I start? It’s soo so good.
When I say in-seam you say…?
Um, Pants?
When has your ego caused you to do something you sort of regret but also would describe as wild and worth it?
Ahhh, my entire teen years.
Haha naw I’ll give a specific one. Actually, no, that basically sums it up.
What was your worst running fuel decision? What was the surprising best?
Definitely learned the lesson of not going for peanut-buttered anything early on. Mad pasties.
Hmm, best… One time, someone had cold freezies, and it saved my life.
What is your death row meal?
Mine: Chicken waffles with maple syrup. But they have to be made damn well! Fluffy waffles, and perfectly crisped chicken, drizzle of maple syrup, and a dash of sriracha.
Out and back or looped course? Why?
LOOPED – way better. You make a beautiful loop and see so much! Just look at that nice map:)
Barkley or 24H track race? Why?
Oh, Jeebus, both are my worst nightmares.. But I’d go to the dark side and take a stab at Barkley and probably lose my mind in that creepy forest over running flats until my body is in pieces…
When I say PTRA, you say?
Pro Trail Runners Association!!! Yahhh
What is one thing that absolutely scares you? Why?
Behind the shower curtains.. I don’t like not seeing what/who is in there… I watched too many scary movies back in the day.
What is a time you felt you didn’t measure up? How did you get through that?
Hmm, when I used to climb, that happened a lot. Or when running with other people. I usually think about the bigger picture, like not all runs have to feel effortless, when we have weaknesses, we have opportunities and other people doing great things, is something to celebrate! If it’s in a race, and I get beat, I’m pretty stoked by the competition having made me work as best as I could.
Who is another runner that flies under the radar that we should all get to know?
Anna Fisher! She blitzed Lake Sonoma in second, but it’ll be really cool to see what she does next. She’s all smiles and based in the SLC area.