Member Spotlight: Sally Ng
Sally Ng has been one of our longest Trail Roots members, joining in 2014 after she grew tired of the triathlon scene and wanted a change of pace and scenery. As a long time personal trainer, she left her corporate job during the pandemic, and went into business for herself. She is an activist through and through, and can be found around the city signing up people to vote. She’s always on the front lines of social justice and women’s rights issues and is a cheerleader for runners of all skin tones, shapes, and sizes to feel like they belong in the running community. We are so happy she is a part of our community and wanted to ask her a few questions about her journey with running and Trail Roots.
Tell us a bit about your personal fitness background. What inspired you to start running?
I started running because that’s what you were “supposed to do” to stay fit. My relationship with running has ebbed and flowed, always present, but my enjoyment dwindled at times. Fortunately, trail running has allowed me to come back around to running for joy, because I can move and be social at the same time.
Why did you join Trail Roots?
I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of running and community. I ran with Erik at Rogue and I loved the friends I made in the community so I followed him into his own gig.
Has your training changed since joining a group?
Let’s just say I wouldn’t be setting my alarm clock early on Saturday mornings if I wasn’t meeting other people out there. It’s easier to prioritize running when there’s people to be out there with, especially during the work week when you might have to say no to meetings and clients to make room in your schedule to run.
What do you love most about trail running?
I like how it can silence a busy brain. I love being outside, feet on the earth, not being able to think about much else than where your feet are going to go. There’s no room to think about what is coming up on the calendar, the stressors and logistics of your day. You just focus on not rolling your ankle, not superman-ing on the cheese grater that is the Texas Hill Country, and letting the tall, fast people ahead of you get all the spider webs to the face.
What’s your favorite trail or workout that you do with Trail Roots?
I have always enjoyed Bull Creek. One of my favorite runs was a cool winter Saturday with mist and fog so thick you couldn’t see more than the person right in front of you, feeling like Hansel or Gretel making your way through the forest. One thing that I am glad for though, is Erik no longer making us do hill repeats on that super tough climb. Those sucked.
“I like how [trail running] can silence a busy brain. I love being outside, feet on the earth, not being able to think about much else than where your feet are going to go. There’s no room to think about what is coming up on the calendar, the stressors and logistics of your day.”
What do you love about being a personal trainer, what excites you about health and fitness?
I love helping people go through life with strength. Strength to lift their suitcases to the overhead bin, strength to carry their kids upstairs, the mental and physical strength to fall down and get back up, strength to discover this world way past their retirement. I want my clients to realize that movement is for everyone, despite what it has been to us in the past, it can be joyful! Exercise is for everyone, and I get to help people learn to enjoy it, with patience and love for themselves.
You are an advocate for diversity in the running community, including body and pace variations. There’s not a one size fits all for runners and not everyone needs to be super speedy to join a running group. Tell us a bit about your passion for this topic?
The fitness industry is hard y’all. We have so many things telling us we are not enough, not fast enough, skinny enough, smart enough, dedicated enough, cis enough, or white enough. This. Is. Bullshit. What we see on TV and media is a very small subset of athletes. As someone that may not look like the stereotypical American runner, it’s even more important that we exist in that space. Because if the only people that join and stay in running groups run at sub 9 minute pace, wear a specific size, look a certain way, make X amount of money, then how will anyone else ever feel comfortable in that? How will this ever change? Every living thing belongs in nature, has the right to be there, to run there.
You also love traveling and have done several runcations, what do you like about them?
I used to do a lot of races and have very specific time goals for each distance. I love running/adventure travel because you don’t have anything else to compare it to. Each new place brings a fresh viewpoint on why you run. You can learn a new land better by foot than in a car or bus. The challenge is to get to that awesome view, to feel earth’s various textures, smells, sights, and not to beat your last time. I think local people are more open to you when you are sweaty in nature than moving through their cities trying to visit all the must see tourist traps.
What has been your favorite place to run?
I loved running part of the Pacific Crest Trail with my Trail Roots buddies, shout out to the OGs. More recently I got to run on a squishy bog (!!) on an unmarked trail in Ireland.
Do you have any races or goals that you’re working towards?
I’m doing a running trip in Slovenia in May, so I’m building up for that!
What advice would you give people who are new to running and want to join a group?
Bring water, even if you think you don’t need it. Pair up with someone, even if that means you have to adjust your speed a bit. Sometimes a big group can be intimidating, so it’s nice to get to know someone that could potentially be your running partner or bestie for many years to come. Also, if Erik starts drawing a “map” with a stick in the dirt, definitely find a partner. It’s better to get lost with a friend than alone. Thank the gods for that Strava map/beacon.
Connect with Sally on Instagram @unlimitedsoupandsally