Life and Work with Cara Marrs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Marrs.

Cara, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up on a resort island in the Southeast, Hilton Head Island, SC. My family was very active focused and also had a very intense love of food. My Italian father’s heritage seemed to dominate and we were raised on a very Mediterranean Diet. I thank my parents for showing us a love of physical activity and also food and cooking. I did always yearn to move westward and in 1992, I moved to Fort Collins to attend CSU and study Natural Resource Management. I moved to Steamboat Springs Colorado in 1997 to explore my love of the mountains after attending school at Colorado State University, and after living in Steamboat for five or six years, running, skiing and biking a lot, and working in several fields, I was yearning to find that avenue that I could give back to society and somehow utilize my love of exercise and nutrition. That same year, my vibrant healthy mother was taken from us in an accident and it propelled me to start back to school in my early 30’s. I was very motivated, and although I was married and owned a home in Steamboat I embarked on a 2-year journey back to CSU for a degree in Dietetics and Human Nutrition. That two years involved a lot of drives in blizzards and whiteouts over Cameron Pass but I was determined.

After graduating, I attended a dietetic medical internship at the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences where I was exposed to one of the best medical staffs in the world and it shaped my entire career, I am forever thankful for that opportunity to attend such a prestigious school, especially as a returning student. During that time, I saw my husband two times in 10 months. Upon returning home to Steamboat, I started private practice counseling clients in weight management, disease management, food sensitivities, gastrointestinal and microbiome health, sports nutrition, and wellness. I attended graduate school and became certified as a CLT, a certified LEAP therapist to work with patients with food sensitivities, and I am currently in a functional medicine program designed for medical nutrition professionals. Nutrition and health are ever evolving and I always want to stay on top everything new, it’s my life’s mission to show people how to live full and well rounded healthy and most importantly happy lives. I also have a thriving distance practice where I work with many people across the country and I have a lot of clients on the front range and Denver area. In addition, I am very involved in the trail running community in Steamboat and have helped volunteer coordinate our non profit running series for over a decade. I love to encourage people to get out and explore their limits in this beautiful state of ours on foot and skis as much as possible. I have been running ultra-marathons for 10 years including every distance from 50k up  to several 100 mile races. I have been ruining and racing trails and skiing for 20+ and its brought so much to my life. I am also a mother to a wonderful and active 7-year-old that we had when I was almost 42 years old, he is the love of my life. In addition I love yoga and encourage everyone to explore yoga and meditation as its greatly helped me remain calm and balanced in a busy life, and mostly injury free.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s never a smooth road! I had to leave my husband in steamboat to pursue my education, and it bore a lot of financial uncertainty, but sometimes you just have to do and not overthink things. Driving in blizzards, student loans, being away from my husband, wondering if we would ever have time to start a family, unpaid year-long internships, being a returning student at 32, all of that weighed heavy but I just decided to go for it and do it with my mother as an inspiration. The year she died, I also ran my first full marathon in her honor. My advice for younger women is to focus on yourself and do what you need to! As far as dietetic internships, there are very few in the state of colorado. I remember many young girls that I was in school with not wanting to apply to programs out of the state because they didn’t want to leave home or their boyfriends. I tried to encourage them to spread their wings, as I was doing even with a home and spouse in steamboat. Because I did that I ended up with a match and opportunity to attend the mayo clinic which was life-altering as I mentioned. One the my greatest challenges I have faced was in 2010, I was in a horrible winter vehicle crash with two friends traveling home from a race in moab. I was badly injured and one friend tragically died in the accident. The process of coming back mentally and physically was long, and the sadness of being a passenger in a wreck like that was profound. It has spurred my love of life and further propelled me to live and appreciate every day. Truly life is a gift to be cherished. In general I want people to explore their dreams, and I say in business and trail running, you can always do more than you think, always, and if you do not put yourself out there, the answer is always no.

Please tell us about Cara Marrs Wellness.
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, RDN, CLT.

Private practice Cara Marrs Wellness for the last 12 years working with patients with all manner of health concerns as I mentioned before and I focus on functional whole body health.

Currently, studying to become board certified in Functional Medicine.

I have worked with recreational athletes to Olympians for sports nutrition, and have a very good sense of what works as an endurance athlete myself.

I work with a lot of gastrointestinal health and food sensitivities and disease management through lifestyle and diet modification.

I also work PT for UC Health in Steamboat Springs delivering community nutrition programs, seeing outpatients and seeing patients in the Jan Bishop Cancer Center.

Public speaker and corporate wellness.

Who have you been inspired by?
First and foremost, my mother. When she was growing up, my grandfather was from a different era, and although, she yearned to participate in sports he would not let her and believed girls should not be in sports. As an adult in Hilton Head South Carolina and Florida, my mother became a nationally ranked masters tennis player and was ranked in the state of SC well into her 50’s. I am inspired by women who are bold and daring in their dreams but willing to put in the work to get there. We live in a quick fix society and sometimes, hard work whether it be in business, health, or sports seem to be avoided. I want to inspire younger women to think outside of the box and strive to achieve anything they set their minds to. I am very inspired by the working parents I know that have busy professional lives, and families, but still manage to seek their dreams on their bikes, skis, and feet. Steamboat and our entire state are full of these role models.

Contact Info:

• Address: Cara Marrs Wellness @ Nutrition Prescription
  57 10th Street Suite C
  Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
• Website: www.caramarrswellness.com
• Phone: 970-8465-6268
• Email: nutritionprescriptionco@gmail.com
• Instagram: cara marrs wellness
• Facebook: cara marrs

Image Credit:
All my except the desert trail running from a recent 50k in Fruita I ran. Photo credit: Glen Delman Photography

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