The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Dawne Belloise
Erica Rasmussen said goodbye to obesity, shed 100 pounds and took control of her health. It wasn’t an easy journey but she’s now a world marathon runner for various charities, completing two marathons in two weeks this past autumn. “I feel stronger than ever, and I never imagined it possible but I had an absolute blast,” she says of her impressive accomplishment.
The impetus that started her running began when she was pregnant with her second child. Sitting in the waiting room at Gunnison Valley Hospital at seven months pregnant, Erica happened to glance over at her chart which declared she was high risk with preeclampsia (very high blood pressure) and obesity. “I already had a very scary pregnancy, because at one point, we were told the baby didn’t have a heartbeat.” Fortunately, through more testing, they discovered the baby’s heartbeat and her daughter was born a month early via C-section. It was then that Erica made a life choice to take ownership of her own health. She started running.
At first Erica couldn’t even run a short block. In 2022, she sought out a coach and trainer, Edina Braun, who became a huge asset and a pivotal component for her significant transformation. “She gave me insight on nutrition and she designs my workout and marathon training plans,” she explains. Juggling her two toddlers while trying to work on her health was quite difficult but Erica says, “In the past three years, I’ve been able to really grasp living a healthy lifestyle.”
Erica’s first marathon was last November 2023 when she ran in the NYC Marathon. “You have to either qualify for time, or a lottery or run for a charity,” she explains. She ran for the Chris Klug Foundation. “He is an Olympic snowboarder who needed an organ transplant before the Olympics so now his organization promotes organ donation awareness. It was great to run for an organization close to home and take it to NYC,” she tells.
After the NYC Marathon, Erica didn’t think she’d run another marathon in her life, essentially having accomplished her goal, but she got hooked on running. “I enjoyed the whole process, the training, nutrition and race prep.” This year, she ran two marathons in two weeks. In September she tackled the Berlin Marathon in Germany, then two weeks later, she completed the Chicago Marathon. Erica explains that every application process is intense because so many people want to run these big-name marathons. She laughs that applying to run in the high-profile Boston Marathon was, “harder than applying to an Ivy League school.”
Erica set another goal for herself, “I wanted to become one of, if not the first, woman to lose 100 pounds and complete all of the World Major Marathons.” It’s an actual series where participants run in a collection of some of the best marathons across the world. “You have to meet strict criteria to be included,” she says of the seven marathons in the series which include NYC, Berlin, Chicago, Boston, London, Tokyo and Sydney. She’ll be running both the Boston and London Marathons in the same week in April 2025. “I had already been accepted to London for the April 27 run and after an intense selection in the Boston Marathon, I was offered a bib to run for a charity there, Boston Medical Center. Boston happens April 21.” Jet lag won’t be an issue for her, she says. “It’s easier for me traveling east. The jet lag really hits me going west.”
The last two of the series, Tokyo and Sidney take place in 2026, and Erica plans on running Tokyo that spring, if accepted. “Sidney would be an added bonus down the road but ultimately my goals have expanded again,” she smiles and reveals that she’s also written a book about her journey and it’s already at the publishers in final edit with a release scheduled for spring of 2025. “It has a lot to do with empowering and inspiring people worldwide to get after their goals. My book helps facilitate a mindset to accomplish that. The big piece is that this journey has taught me so much that I’m excited to share.”
For now, Erica is at the gym weightlifting five days a week, and speed training, running two days a week with a mellow weekend run. “My training runs are 20 miles each but right now in the off-season, I’m just getting out there having fun, knowing that when the new year comes I will have to have my game face on for Boston and London.”
To earn her spot in these marathons, Erica is required to raise funds for the charities she’s representing. She has to raise $10,500 combined for both Boston and London. The British charity is VICTA, which helps blind children get into physical activities like surfing or attending summer camp for the first time. Erica must raise $2,500 for VICTA and $3,000 of the required $8,000 for Boston Medical Center by December 31.
“Both of those charities are important to me because they support health and wellness on a global scale. Coming from a place of obesity, I never imagined having the opportunity to pay it forward for others needing support for their health journeys,” she says and adds, “I think ultimately we all have so much more potential than we give ourselves credit for but it’s when we truly step into that potential that we develop momentum toward pursuing big goals like this.”
As a mom, Erica feels that it’s her job to serve as an example for being healthy for her kids and husband and her next athletic event is actually a mother-daughter duo figure skating show at the Jorgensen Ice Rink in Gunnison on December 15. “I never imagined the doors that would open from living a healthy lifestyle including becoming the mom I’ve always wanted to be. It’s been awesome to have my husband’s support when I have to get up and train at 4 a.m.,” she says of not only her family’s commitment to a healthier lifestyle, but her commitment because in the winter it’s dark and frigid in those wee hours.
Next year, Erica will be traveling and speaking to promote the launch of her book and encouraging people to believe in themselves more. “Gratitude has been the backbone of every single step of this journey. It has helped me remain disciplined, overcome challenges and continue pushing forward knowing that every ounce of energy I’ve put into this journey has been totally worth it.”
For more info and to donate, visit her website EricaRuns.com. You can also follow her journey on Instagram @runforyourgoals
