Siri Terjesen
Events: Ultramarathons
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 115 pounds
Born: June 29, 1975 in Akron, Ohio
Current Residence: Bloomington, Indiana
College: University of Richmond (Undergraduate) VA, 1997; Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (Fulbright Scholar - Master's), Norway, 2001; Cranfield University (PhD) UK, 2006
Profession: Assistant Professor, Management & Entrepreneurship, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Agent: Tour Talent
Club: Summit (USA); 100 Marathon Club (UK); Brisbane Road Runners (AUS)
Sponsor: Brooks

PRs

• Marathon: 2:57:35
• 50 km: 3:35:19 (fastest time for American woman in 2006)
• 100 km: 8:22:09 (fastest time for an American Woman in 2003)

Career Highlights

• IAU Trophy 50 km (World Championships), 3rd place(2006)
• USA team member, IAU 100 km World Championships, Winschoten, Holland (2004)
• Australian Champion, 50 km, Canberra, Australia (2006)
• AAA Champion, 50 km, Sutton Coldfield, England (2003)
• UK Champion, 100 km, Edinburgh, Scotland (2003)
• IAU World 100 km Championships, Taiwan (2003) 18th; 1st place Open Race
• Member, Queensland team, Australian Marathon Championships (2006); 1st Team
• Member, England team, Anglo Celtic Plate, Edinburgh, UK (2003, 2004); 1st Team
• Completed over 85 marathons and ultramarathons in a dozen countries since 1997, including 30 victories in Spain, Belgium, Norway, Australia and the UK
• British Ultrarunner of the Year (2003)
• Australian Ultrarunner of the Year (2006)

Other Running Activities

• Columnist, Ultrarunning magazine, US (since 2004)
• Columnist, AURA magazine, Australia (since 2005)
• Organizer, Goodenough College and Cranfield University marathons, UK (2004-2005)
• President, Goodenough College Running Club, UK (2002-2004)
• President, Accenture Washington D.C. Running Club, US (2000-2001)

Biography

Akron, Ohio native Siri Terjesen has run over 105 marathons and ultramarathons in 15+ countries around the world, including over 40 victories in the US, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Australia, Korea and the UK. Siri placed third in the World Championships (IAU 50km trophy, 2006) and won National Championships at the 100 km (UK), 50 km (Australia, England) and 40 mile (Wales) distances. Siri lives in Bloomington, Indiana, where she teaches and researches entrepreneurship and strategy at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Formerly, she did her post-doc at Queensland University of Technology's Brisbane Graduate School of Business where she ran for the Queensland state team. She completed her PhD in London where she enjoyed training along the city's network of canals and in the country at the weekends, and was a member of the Serpentine, 100 Marathon and Road Runners clubs. She was named British Ultrarunner of the Year in 2003 and Australian Ultrarunner of the Year in 2006 even though she is a US citizen.

For Siri, the ability to run has been a blessing. At age seven, she was diagnosed with scoliosis (genetic curvature of the spine) and wore a full brace for nine years. During this period, she could only remove the brace for an hour each day. At age 16, when it became clear that the brace had not worked and her curve was worsening, she had surgery that left her temporarily inactive, with two steel rods implanted from the top of her neck to her tailbone.

Siri's competitive and endurance qualities emerged when she completed her first marathon in Copenhagen, one week after graduating from the University of Richmond in Virginia. She began running competitively during her Fulbright Master’s (Norwegian School of Economics & Business Administration in Bergen, Norway) and PhD (Cranfield) studies and discovered ultras in 2003 when she ran 8:22:09 in her first 100 km, the fastest 100 km time of any American woman for that year and 18th in the world.

Siri says, “I admire something in every person I meet at ultras. I am especially thankful to the early pioneers, the race organizers, statisticians and historians who have done their bit to legitimatize, document and grow this great sport. I really love the camaraderie and find that ultrarunners the world over are a fairly eccentric but friendly bunch full of energy and laughs. I also really enjoy traveling around America, Asia, Australia, Europe and more distant parts of the world to meet new people and see great places.”

In their own words...

Running achievement I am most proud of:  In May 2003, at the start line of my first 50K at the AAA England national championships, I met Isobel Partndge (Kenilworth Runners). Isobel and I talked and ran side by side throughout the race. In the closing 200 meters, either of us could have made a sprint finish to claim the national title, but instead we held hands and finished together in the first tie in a national championships. We have been best running friends ever since and are currently enjoying being pregnant/having young children at the same time!

Why I run: Running has always been a wonderful escape for me. From age 7 to 16, I wore a full torso Milwaukee brace for my scoliosis (genetic curvature of the spine) and was only allowed to remove the brace for one hour each day. I preferred running without the brace, as running with the brace was pretty uncomfortable and very hot--half an inch of hard plastic covering me from my hips to just a few inches below my neck, a t-shirt underneath and another shirt on top. By age 16, it became clear that the brace had not worked and a surgery implanted two Harrington rods along my spine, from my tailbone to close to the top of my neck. That left me pretty inactive for a long time. During my senior year of college, I trained for my first marathon Copenhagen on May 18, 1997, and rediscovered my love of running. This time it wasn't to escape the brace! I really love the camaraderie and find that ultrarunners the world over are a fairly eccentric but friendly bunch full of energy and laughs. I also really enjoy traveling around America, Australia, Europe and more distant parts of the world to meet new people and see great places.

Future Goals: Keep running, give back to the ultrarunning community all over the world

Favorite quote: "Adventure is the best souvenir."

7/04, Rev 6/10