Denise Bourassa

ULTRA RUNNER

Despite her incredible running talent (4th fastest women’s Grand Slam finish time of all time) Denise still identifies herself as a healthcare professional first, a runner second. She’s worked as a nurse for 19 years, and can be found each morning and evening run-commuting to the hospital with a pack of scrubs on her back. After focusing on Grand Slam in 2014, we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do without having to rein the horses!

Q&A with Denise

Describe yourself in three words:
Tiny, tough, passionate!

Trip/event looking forward to in 2017:
Looking forward to returning to 100 Miles of Istria. This year it is a part of the UTWT (Ultra Trail World Tour) and I am hopeful to race a couple of these races.

If money, logistics, and risk of injury were not factors, what would you pick for the adrenaline dump of a lifetime?
Well then put me in one of those flying squirrel suits and bring me to to top of a mountain and let me soar like the Eagle spirit animal I am certain I was meant to be :)

If you could choose another sport to go pro in, what would it be?
If it were a sport that I thought I could be successful at I would say rock climbing if not I would choose figure skating. I love the grace, flexibility, rhythm, strength and beauty of the sport.

Do you believe in astrology?
Yes, when you race 100 miles, sometimes it takes the position of the stars and the movements of the planets to influence the events leading up to starting and finishing 100 miles.

Favorite Food:
All I can say is that it’s a good thing I like to run! I enjoy it all but… I can never pass up a good slice of pizza pie and of course a pint of IPA!

Why’d you pick Picky?
As an endurance runner I can’t afford to just put anything in my body and expect it to perform well. This goes with my training runs as well as my races, believe me I have tried it, and it does not work. Picky is designed to meet the needs of an athlete’s body without letting a lot of waste get in the way of a great bar.