In three decades of covering the region, we’ve been fortunate to meet the most amazing outdoor athletes, adventurers, and advocates on the planet. Here are a few standouts that have been especially inspiring.
DeWayne Satterfield: Satterfield was one of the South’s all-time best ultrarunners. He won his hometown ultra—the Mountain Mist 50K—nine times (and recorded 25 consecutive finishes), and he always seemed to be having fun doing it. DeWayne was an actual rocket scientist who was known to recite poetry at starting lines. He inspired a generation of ultrarunners in the South with both his accomplishments and his radiant personality. In 2020, he died of cancer at age 55—a loss that is still felt in the ultrarunning community. In his honor, runners in his hometown of Huntsville, Ala., still climb a red fence that he insisted on climbing rather than going around.
Anne Riddle: Riddle absolutely dominated ultrarunning for two decades, winning multiple national championships and finishing second at the World 100K Championships. On the trail, she is a force of nature—most of her competitors only see her distinctively long curly hair from behind. Off the trail, she is a devoted mom and social worker who gives her whole heart to her community. She is the most generous, gracious, humble, kindhearted person I have ever interviewed.
Mirna Valerio: She changed everything—by fearlessly taking on sports where few Black people ventured, including skiing, biking, and ultrarunning. She challenges every possible stereotype about weight, race, and the South, and she does it beautifully.
Matt Kirk. Archive photo courtesy of Kirk.
Matt Kirk: This minimalist runner set the unsupported A.T. speed record in 58 days, 9 hours, and 38 minutes. He also launched the FKT chase, notching speed records on the Benton Mackaye Trail and Bartram Trail with simple, ultralight handmade gear. Like his gear and his running, Kirk is an unassuming, down-to-earth dude always helping others reach their goals.
Sam Evans: Seldom Seen Sam mostly stays under the radar, but he has been one of the Blue Ridge’s most versatile and talented outdoor athletes for two decades. He has podium finishes at the region’s biggest bike races. He paddles class V gnar. And he can outrun and outlast anyone on the trails. He could compete and win just about every weekend, but he often creates his own off-trail adventures exploring the region’s toughest terrain. Best of all, he is one of the region’s leading environmental attorneys who fiercely protects the wild forests and rivers of Appalachia.
Jennifer Pharr Davis: In 2011, Pharr Davis set the Appalachian Trail speed record outright in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes. Since then, she has hiked nearly every other long-distance trail and given back to the community as an author and founder of a hiking store and guide service. She has inspired a new generation of thru-hikers and has been a prominent advocate for protecting public lands.
Canyon Woodward: He wins ultras and crushes records—including the A.T. speed record through the Smokies—and he trains on the western North Carolina trails and gravel roads where he was born and raised. Long runs on those gravel roads inspired him to launch Dirtroad Revival, an organization dedicated to positive politics and finding common ground in rural America.
Katie Spotz: I first interviewed this Warren Wilson College grad after she became the youngest person to row solo and unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, she has continued to crush it, becoming the first American to row from Africa to South America and the first to swim the 325-mile Allegheny River. She is also a charitable ambassador raising funds and awareness for clean water.
Chris Gragtmans: This gonzo kayaker wrote the magazine’s most popular paddling stories ever, including riveting moment-by-moment chronicles of his first descents down two waterfalls. He recently co-founded Bright Shadow, which provides mental health care to the outdoor community.
Jay Curwen: This world-class triathlete, adventure racer, and ultrarunner lives and breathes the outdoors. Now a vice president for the NOC, he has been a rep for just about every major outdoor brand, and he directs the legendary Mount Mitchell 40-Mile Challenge, following in the footsteps of his father who first directed it. Curwen now has two adventurous and athletic kids trying to do the same.
Sasha diGiulian: Before graduating high school, diGiulian free-climbed the toughest climbs in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. Since then, she has notched over 30 First Female Ascents around the world and is a three-time national champion.
Luke Paulson: Without much fanfare, Luke quietly goes out and wins the toughest ultras. He has won the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run, Grand-further Mountain Run 25K, Stump Jump 50K, Mount Cheaha 50K, Mount Taylor 50K, and Yamacraw 50K, and he finished second at the Leadville 100 in 2023. Paulson gives back to the running community by directing Asheville’s Flying Squirrel 10 Miler, which raised funds to support indigenous Tarahumara runners.
Ann Rose: Her 2,000-mile paddle from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico was one of the grittiest expeditions BRO has covered.
Jeremiah Bishop: Bishop is an 18-time member of the National Cycling Team and has dominated mountain biking for two decades. Bishop helped elevate Appalachia to the national stage with his success training and racing in his hometown of Harrisonburg, Va.
Norm Blair: Blair finished 10th at the Boston Marathon, one of the all-time best performances ever by a Blue Ridge athlete. Since then, he has coached and inspired tens of thousands of runners in the Asheville area. For decades, he has led Norm’s Maggots, a dedicated crew of runners who meet for weekly workouts, and he has directed the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run, one of the country’s premier trail races.
Ky Delaney: This Pirate Mama sailed with her four-year-old son around the Virgin islands and is a leading voice for protecting the places where we play.
Morgan Sommerville: the longtime leading voice of the Appalachian Trail was our first Outdoor Hero of the Year.
Bettina Freese: Be-Free was one of the first mountain bike columnists for Blue Ridge Outdoors, and she has inspired a generation of dirt divas. She is also a beloved community voice, educator, and advocate who brings out the best in everyone.
Eustace Conway: The Last American Man is a true mountain man as rugged as Appalachia.
Joe Moerschbaecher: This professional adventure guide and runner has the deepest passion for the outdoors of anyone I’ve met.
Mac Brown: Brown is a rare and colorful combo of elite adventure racer and hard-core fly guide.
Andrew Herrington: He’s the Blue Ridge’s best survivalist and search and rescue leader.
Wally Smith: Smith has been a fierce and fearless advocate for protecting Virginia’s forests and rivers.
EJ, Emily, and Dane Jackson: The Jackson family revolutionized paddling from their RV beside the river.
Neko Mullaly: Mullaly is a three-time downhill mountain bike national champ who builds downhill bike parks and gives away his winning bikes to raise money for underprivileged kids.
Carol Ruckdeschel: The Jane Goodall of sea turtles saved Cumberland Island, where she has lived self-sufficiently for 50 years in a hand-built cabin. At age 83, she continues to fight for the island wilderness.
Aaron Saft: Saft is a trail marathon national champion with multiple podium finishes for Team USA. He’s also an accomplished ultrarunner, celebrated high school coach, and pillar of the running community.
Adriene Levknecht: Levknecht is holder of the most untouchable record in the Blue Ridge: 14-time champion of the Green River Race. She’s also a three-time U.S. Freestyle Kayak team member who won bronze at the 2013 World Freestyle Championships. Her day job as a wildland fire paramedic is also badass.
Tim Willis: This blind runner won five Paralympic medals in the 5K and 10K and set 12 national running records. I was fortunate to guide him on a few training runs by tugging on a shoestring stretched between our hands. He was the hardest-working athlete I have ever met. He memorized the terrain around his postage-stamp suburban Atlanta front yard and ran hundreds of thousands of laps around it. Those miles I shared with Tim, a shoestring stretched between us, were some of the most meaningful and memorable of my life.
Cover photo: Dane Jackson. Photo by Corey Rich/courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
