Name: Bridget Flynn

Location: Littleton, CO

Favorite Athletic brew: Ripe Pursuit, Upside Dawn

Instagram: @braflynn

When it comes to blazing a new trail, Bridget Flynn knows that all it takes is the will to get out there and try something new, along with some solid preparation to succeed on the trail. 

She did just that on the Wasatch 7 trail in Utah, snagging the FKT in the process! It may have been her first official FKT, but she’s no stranger to epic trails and outdoor adventures – and she loves to inspire others to get out there and conquer their fears along the way.

“On one hand, it’s as simple as just go do it,” Bridget says. “Sometimes, we let that fear hold us back … I know it’s not always easy, but finding people who are gonna cheer you on or offer to go with you or support you in your endeavors instead of saying ‘don’t do that because it’s dangerous’ or ‘you can’t do that that fast’ or whatever. If you’ve developed skills and self-assurance, you know when to listen to people and when not to.”

Bridget loves to be outside in the mountains playing rather than “racing,” but she’ll occasionally hop in a competition or two. She also loves to walk and enjoy slower days, kicking back with a tasty beverage. 

One thing is for certain: Bridget’s pursuit of vert won’t stop anytime soon!

Read on to learn more about Bridget and how she’s a trail trailblazer! 

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Tell me a little bit about yourself and how fitness and sports came into your life.

I am originally from Ohio – I love northeast Ohio! There are so many trails, lakes and fun things to do outside, so I grew up always playing outside. My family – my dad especially – was really into sports. I’ve been playing sports my whole life. I tell people I’ve played every sport a girl could play. 

Having the balance between a structured team sport and more independent play as a child allowed me to develop resilience and self-discovery. It’s something I’ve taken through my life.

In college, I trained for my first half marathon with my cousin, and I felt like I could’ve really improved, so I did another one. When I got my first job after college, I did a Tough Mudder, and that was really cool to be able to have the mental, physical and team components. 

After that, I was like, wow, I’m pretty strong. I wanted to look strong and decided I wanted a big physical challenge. How do you top a Tough Mudder? Bodybuilding was the craziest thing I could think of: to be on stage and be judged. I wanted to look as fit as I felt, and an aesthetic sport is kind of the pinnacle of that. 

So I did competitive bodybuilding for a few years. It was an amazing experience. I’ve also been vegan for almost 20 years, so being strong as a vegan was something my angsty teenage self could’ve only dreamed of. In high school, everyone said I was gonna be pale and tired and anemic; with bodybuilding, I thought I’ll just get jacked and flex on everyone.

I won a couple of shows and placed in a few shows. It was a cool experience to show people it was possible as a vegan. I met a lot of other vegan athletes. Another thing I really liked about bodybuilding – being socialized as a woman, I’ve been told my entire life to make myself smaller, so getting strong, lifting weights with a bunch of guys – that felt really powerful. Gaining weight on purpose and taking up space at the gym, getting bigger – it was a really cool way to subvert so much messaging I got growing up. 

I was able to help a lot of other folks during that time too. Helping people see what they’re capable of is something I’m really passionate about. I want to inspire and support someone in that journey and just cheer them on. That process is awesome. 

Then after that – bodybuilding wrecks your body – I got more into trail running and climbing. During COVID, I met a bunch of people who do ultra long-distance running. They told me there’s a lot of walking in ultras, and I was like, sick, I love walking. I’ve never done a marathon – I just went straight to ultras. 

I like to be outside for a long time. I guess that kind of brings me to where I am now. Playing in the mountains is my main sport: running, hiking, rock climbing, scrambling, mountaineering. 

 

 

What made you want to pursue an FKT (Fastest Known Time)?

I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone and do a little bit of racing, but that's not what I love. I just love being out there. I think I heard about FKTs in a podcast or something like that, and they mentioned a bunch of FKTs that didn’t have a women’s time. I was like, dang, we gotta get up there! 

The FKT format is neat. You can do it when you’re feeling good and when conditions are good. There’s a big logistics and mental component of it, too, not just the physical. The mountains are so inspiring, so FKTs in the mountains appeal most to me. 

I like the simplicity of the self-supported format. I started by myself and spent all the miles by myself. While I was out there, I met some really amazing people along the way. 

My idea for the Wasatch 7 (UT) FKT came about because my brother lives in the area. He mentioned there are seven hard hikes near him. I had done a couple of them, and when I was looking it up later, I realized there was an FKT without an established women’s time. So that gave me the idea. It's seven peaks covering about 75 miles and 35,000’ of elevation gain.

I think one of the more special moments on the FKT was when I got to the summit of Cascade Mountain. It’s a 3,000’ climb in a mile up a rocky couloir. When I got to the top, I found my brother and I’s summit log from two years prior, on that same day, and on that day, we met a guy who was trying to do all summits. A lot of people said that was one of the hardest because the terrain is difficult, and back then, I thought, if I can do this, maybe I can do all of them. So it was two years in the making. I gained more and more fitness, mountain skills, and felt I might have a shot.

On two different summits, I met people who had lived in the valley their whole life and looked up at the mountains and hadn’t climbed them. I happened to do it the same day and meet these folks which was pretty special. They aren’t all the tallest in the Wasatch, but they are the most iconic mountains – the ones you see from the valley. That’s why they really pull people to them. They’re beautiful. They inspire us so much. 

 

 

Since you’re literally blazing trails with FKTs, how do you hope to inspire other women to take the lesser-traveled paths in life and blaze their own trail?

I think in small ways and big ways, I try to think about how I can help others realize their aspirations. Even with things like the mountain stuff I do: I do a lot of stuff solo. A lot of people say, “Oh, you shouldn’t hike alone, or be a woman outside at night alone..” There are so many things people say you shouldn’t do. 

So even things so small as going camping by myself and telling other women or people who are nervous to camp by themselves how I work through navigating my own safety and mental approach as well as physical approach to work through some of those fears, I think, is really important. Sometimes doing these things, I forget that it inspires other people. It can sometimes feel really self-serving. 

But then someone messages you later saying something like they’ve never done that mountain and that they’re scared to do it, and they ask if you’ll go up with them. So I will go with them for their first summit or encourage them to find the strength to go on their own, or help them with a line, or even more broadly, help them feel more comfortable in the gym … whatever it may be, I feel like it’s so cool to help people in that way so they can then keep pushing their own boundaries.

Growing up as a punk, I never wanted to accept without question the things that society tells you – what you’re supposed to be, or listen to, or how to set up your life. I think through testing of what works for me and what doesn’t, you can inspire others to figure out what conventions are actually serving them or not. Being able to help people question and devise what works for them is a really cool thing. 

If you could give advice to other women thinking about going for an FKT, what would it be? 

On one hand, it’s as simple as just go do it. On the other, I think one of the things that’s helped me, especially in terms of navigating fear and risk, is really trying to think about what you’re most afraid of and either saying it out loud or writing it down, then figuring out a plan for if that actually happens what you would do. 

Sometimes, we let that fear hold us back when we might be able to navigate it more easily than we think. I know it’s not always easy, but finding people who are gonna cheer you on or offer to go with you or support you in your endeavors instead of saying “don’t do that because it’s dangerous” or “you can’t do that that fast” or whatever. 

If you’ve developed skills and self-assurance, you know when to listen to people and when not to. 

 

 

How did you find Athletic Brewing non-alcoholic beer and the Athletic Brewing Ambassador program?

I found the beer in 2020. I had a lot of rules around my drinking. One was not to drink when stuff is on my mind, and a global pandemic certainly counted as something that was on my mind. I didn’t want to drink alcohol by myself at my house, so I started looking into other options and found NA beer. 

I heard about Athletic and started looking into it more. I loved the mission, loved that they gave 2 percent back to the trails, and even the hashtag #FitForAllTimes – just being ready for anything. I think Upside Dawn was the first one I had. When I drank it, I was like, this is exactly what you want in a beer. It’s so delicious and well-balanced. I loved it! 

I heard about the Ambassador Team in 2023, right before I became an Ambassador. I was already telling people about Athletic, so I figured why not participate and learn more and be part of the change. 

With all the other threads around veganism and helping people make choices that are right for them, even if people aren’t ready to go sober, having options so they don't have to drink helps people navigate what’s best for themselves. I love that Athletic promotes good, high-quality craft NA beers. It doesn’t matter whether you're sober or a drinker who just doesn’t want to drink that night or you’re pregnant or have a health condition or sober curious: They’re just good drinks. 

What are some of your proudest achievements? 

This year, certainly the FKT. I also put up my first top 10 time on a Colorado 14er. The routes in Colorado are really competitive, so that felt pretty exciting to me. 

In a way, it’s not even the individual achievements; it’s just the love of it that is maybe my proudest achievement. I don’t have a coach or a training plan. I just let the mountains inspire me. I think that allows me to keep loving it and not feel burnt out. 

In some ways, my mental approach and the way I’m navigating risk and doing stuff that is pretty scary while also feeling pretty clear-headed is something I feel proud of beyond just single mountain-sort of achievements. 

And just to mention a couple other little things: I did 500,000’ of elevation gain in 2024. My original goal was 360,000’. I had a really good summer and fall and was able to do half a million, so I think that in some ways encapsulates so many other things. I got to experience so many new peaks and develop intimacy with others doing them a lot. 

I had a big asthma flare-up this year, and being able to rest when I needed to and come back from that laid the groundwork for a successful third of the year. The time out gave me motivation to soak in everything I can. We don't know how much time we’re gonna have in life, and I want to squeeze out every drop I can. I think having the time off just made me feel even more grateful to be back in the mountains and doing what I love: going uphill!

 

 

Do you have any bucket list races, events, or achievements you'd like to attain one day?

There’s so much! I want to do a high-altitude mountaineering international peak. I will probably try to run a 100 miler at some point.

Honestly, most of my goals are just to meet more mountains and experience the beauty and uniqueness of more places. More slot canyons, peaks, ridgelines, link-ups, scrambles, cultures rocks.

I might try to do the Inclinathon one day, which is 13 ups and downs of the Manitou Incline, basically a marathon with 25,000’ of elevation gain in under 24 hours. 

I want to do more vertical challenges! I plan to do more in the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges this year. I’d love to do Mount Whitney sometime, stuff in the White Mountains in NH. I’m only a few states away from visiting all 50 states, so that’s one too!

What is your favorite recovery food?

I eat a lot of Thai food – that’s probably one of my big ones. My pre-exercise food has been cookie dough. I'm really into cookie dough before being active, then having vegetables, protein, and carbs after. 

 

 

What do you like to do on rest days?

I love walking. Just easy walking around the neighborhood. It’s one of the best things you can do for your health. My grandpa lived to be 97 and took walks all the time, so I’m a big believer in taking walks. 

I also enjoy a little bit of meditation, reading, yoga, chilling out, talking on the phone to my friends, listening to music, going to concerts, and I just love beverages a lot, so I think that’s also why i was excited about Athletic. I love drinking coconut water, Athletic brews, kombuchas, and other delicious drinks. And baking! I’m a sucker for cookies of all kinds. 

What gets you up and out of bed every day?

I think knowing that our time on earth is short. I try to take advantage of what I can in life and sometimes laying in bed a little longer is what we need, and sometimes it’s waking up way earlier than you would like to go climb a mountain. 

 

 

What does living a life #FitForAllTimes mean to you?

Without sounding like a doomsday prepper, I think having a clear head – whether that’s your friend needs you and you need to drive over and help them, or shit goes down and you have to help or escape a situation or whatever. Being mentally alert and able motivates me, whether that’s in the political environment that we’re in, or safety and fitness for being a woman in the world.

Part of the reason I don’t do a lot of races is because I like maintaining a level of fitness in which I can do anything I want to do, and that keeps me going, so being able to recover and not feel like crap and be mentally alert is important to me. 

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