Hey there, I’m Michelle Merlis, a mountain, ultra, and trail runner from Upstate NY.
Born and raised in the Catskill Mountains, with days spent hiking the many trails at Minnewaska State Park, the Mohonk Preserve, and Sam's Point, and nights spent toiling over the words of Henry David Thoreau, my life was staged to be one moved by the mountains.
After graduating from Purdue University in Indiana with a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics, I moved to Albany, NY where my passion for running and trail running was intensified by my involvement with a local running club, the Albany Running Exchange. I ran my first trail race in 2014 and my first ultra in 2016. Since then, I have run, raced, and embarked on adventure all over the US and the world, including representing Team USA in the 40K at the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand in November 2022.
Simply put, my favorite place to be is in the mountains and my favorite thing to do is convince other people to join me.
