Pull Out Your Boss Moves

Welcoming a runner to the finish line of Kettle Moraine 100

When I started Ornery Mule Racing…

I had a simple idea: share my love for trail running with others. I wanted to invite people onto the trails I love and create races that felt welcoming, showcased beautiful places, and reminded runners they were capable of hard things.

It mattered to me. I felt these races needed to exist in the world. So I dove in and started building.

I wasn’t trained to put on races. No one taught me how to do this. There wasn’t a guidebook sitting on my kitchen counter. I was blazing my own trail.

And I decided early on that “not knowing how” wasn’t going to stop me. If I didn’t know something… I would learn it.

I needed a website. Did I know how? No. I figured it out and built one. I needed permits. Did I know where to start? Nope. I figured it out.

And then it was everything else:
Ordering food. Designing a course. Marking the course. Recruiting volunteers. Getting runners. Packing. Loading trailers. Organizing race bins. Finding storage. Hiring staff. Solving problems on the fly.

What I learned is, that not knowing, then figuring it out….was the best lesson I could ever have.

Some people doubted me. I didn’t. I kept building.

There was no budget. Just elbow grease, late nights, and a level of determination you don’t fully understand until you’re living it.

And listen… when the website breaks or race week gets messy, it can feel so frustrating. Overwhelming. Like you want to throw your laptop into a river and pretend the internet never existed.

But when the work needs to get done… you pull out a boss move.

You get calm.
You problem-solve.
You keep moving.

And sometimes the biggest boss move isn’t fixing the problem… it’s refusing to quit on yourself. It’s choosing to believe in yourself when it feels messy, unfamiliar, or hard.

And here’s the truth: I didn’t get everything right the first time. Sometimes I messed up. Sometimes I learned the hard way. Sometimes I had to deal with consequences.

I’ve screwed up plenty, and honestly, some of those lessons were really hard while I was going through them. But I try not to stay stuck there. I learn from it, adjust, and keep moving forward.

A lot of the things that have made me better came from mistakes, stressful moments, and figuring things out the hard way. It does not feel great in the moment, but looking back, those experiences usually taught me exactly what I needed to learn.

I didn’t give up on myself because of mistakes. I kept believing, trying, and working toward something I deeply cared about… beautiful races and a community to be proud of.

Every job inside Ornery Mule Racing and Ornery Mule Coaching, I have done at some point.

I have paid the bills, built the website, designed graphics, found vendors, created training plans, coordinated volunteers, washed endless amounts of race gear after every race, booked bus services, handled permits, made maps, designed and marked courses, and kept the books and tax paperwork organized.

I have even ordered porta potties to be delivered into the middle of a forest with no address and no cell service. Try explaining that one over the phone to a porta potty company.

Some jobs I definitely love more than others.

And really…that’s not even all of it… it’s just the stuff I can remember without opening 147 spreadsheets.

But then race day comes, and you watch runners cross the finish line after months or years of hard work, chasing goals they once thought were impossible.

That feeling makes every stressful moment, late night, and muddy race bin worth it.

The point is… none of this came from already knowing what I was doing.

It came from refusing to quit the second something felt hard or unfamiliar.

So the next time you feel like giving up because you don’t know how… pull out your boss move.
You’ve got this.

Question: What’s a boss move you’ve pulled off before… and what boss move do you need to pull out next?

If you’re craving a space to keep building strength, confidence, and momentum with other incredible women, you’d fit right in with us in Glam & Grit Trailhead. No pressure, just a place to grow together.