Meet Ashley Brasovan of McKinstry, Hoka One One and Peak Performance Running

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Brasovan.

Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Professional Athlete for Hoka One One, a Substitute Coach and Collegiate Recruiting Specialist for Peak Performance Running, and an Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy Account Manager for McKinstry Essention in Golden. I have a passion for helping others achieve their goals in athletics in addition to pursuing my own athletic career on the trails and mountains. My day job is working with local governments across Colorado to strategize and implement clean energy, energy efficiency, and climate goals.

I am originally from Florida and decided to go into the environmental field after getting my scuba diving certification at age 10. I wanted to save the coral reefs along the coast so majored in oceanography during my undergraduate studies at Duke University. I pivoted into the energy sector in graduate school and never looked back. My first job out of college was with McKinstry in Golden, CO and I have been with the company ever since. Culturally and project-wise, it has been a perfect fit and the company aligns well with my beliefs.

Alongside that, I have run competitively since middle school – starting as a swimmer initially. I ran D1 cross country and track for Duke University and post-collegiality have transitioned more to mountains and trails which has made me feel more connected to the earth and my day job. To give back to the running community, I spend time volunteering at events, working with Hoka One One, my primary sponsor, helping to coach Peak Performance Running in Golden, CO, and helping the high school athletes with the college recruiting process. In my post collegiate running career, I have qualified for the 2016, 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, become a 3x Team USA Member, and 5x National Champion.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My path has definitely had some bumps along the way. At age 18, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis which ultimately became a major barrier in my D1 running career and also in my daily life (having to be on crutches for multiple months). As a result of my bone condition, I have fractured my femur six times in the last decade and had been told multiple times that I would never be able to run again, let alone compete at a high level.

Over the last ten years, I have worked with multiple doctors to try to increase bone density and address over physical deficits to get back into the normal bone density range. I never gave up on my running dreams and career aspirations. As a result of thinking more about long term health (which isn’t easy as an 18-year-old), I am able to not only run but be competitive at an international level once again on the trails and mountains. I truly believe this experience has not only made me a stronger athlete but a stronger, mentally tough person as well.

On the career side, being a young female in the energy efficiency and renewable energy space has definitely been a challenge. I have had many great female mentors at McKinstry over the last 4.5 years but still feel like it is an uphill battle. It is harder to build credibility and still feel like there is a significant gender gap in the industry unfortunately.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I specialize in trail and mountain running, coach, help high school athletes get recruited for collegiate running, and help to fight climate change in my current company.

Coming back from osteoporosis and have to live a modified lifestyle/training schedule has made me mentally tougher as a human. I am proud to be able to work full time to better our natural environment while still being able to compete at a high level while helping others in the running community achieve their goals. I am most proud of being able to represent the USA on an international scale in cross country and mountain running. All of the obstacles that I have had to overcome throughout training and racing make the “highs” in life even better.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
From a career standpoint, I am proud to work for a company, McKinstry, that cares about its employees both in and out of the office. I have had on-going mentorship the past several years and am truly grateful for each project that we are able to complete and see that we are making a difference.

In running, qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2016 and being able to represent my country at the 2018 and 2019 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships have definitely been some of the high points over the last few years.

Contact Info:

• Email: abrasovan226@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashley_brasovan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.brasovan

Image Credit:
Cirque Series, Xterra

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