FEBRUARY 2026: Be Bold. Be Brave. Climb On.

Be Bold. Be Brave. Climb On.

Join us Thursday, 4/16 at 6pm in the iRunLOCAL shop for a special book reading from Bethany Adams, local author of Unsupported: A story of moving fast and letting go Setting a speed record in the Adirondack Mountains.

Adams is a writer, mountain athlete and experiential educator. She is the first woman to achieve 100 Fastest Known Times (FKTs), and in 2020, she and Katie Rhodes became the first women to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks unsupported. Her stories of endurance and healing through nature have been published in Trail Runner and Outside magazines and in the short story collection Blood Sweat Tears (Rugged Outdoorswoman Publishing, 2024). Adams is a proud community ambassador for SheJumps, a non-profit organization that works to provide more women and girls access to the outdoors. Also a member of Team VJ Shoes USA, she can be found at @bethany.climbs on Instagram.

46Climbs

A certain percentage of proceeds from Unsupported will be donated to 46Climbs, an organization that raises awareness around suicide through physical movement and mountain climbing. In 2020, the hike that Rhodes and Adams embarked on and later made history with, was dedicated to 46Climbs. Mental health struggles and suicide touch every family, its part of Unsupporteds mission to offer light on a subject that is often kept in the darkness.

https://46climbs.com/

Praise for Unsupported:

Adams is perseverance personified.

-Amanda K. Jaros, Author of In My Boots: A Memoir of Five Million Steps along the Appalachian Trail

Pre-order book at (Books will be available for purchase at the event):

https://www.ruggedoutdoorswoman.com

Excerpt from Unsupported:

My dream had been to play soccer at a collegiate level, possibly even to go further. But it seemed my athletic ambitions were always limited by my body. I was diagnosed with asthma before I could walk, and then ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation of the lower intestines, at age ten. Driven by the desire to be normal, I often refused to acknowledge the complexity of my illnessesor the consequences of not taking care of my body. When I reached college and my mother was no longer around to manage my treatment, I stopped taking my medications. With the newfound freedom to live however I wanted, I made poor nutritional decisions that often resulted in bingeing the sugary, processed foods Id been denied early in life. In the end, my college soccer career was lackluster. I spent most of those years inflamed and depressed.

Now on the slopes of Mount Marcy, my legs seem to go faster with every stride, and I open into a full sprint. Its a wild and uncontrolled rush. Having to focus so intensely on my foot placements as I pick my way between rocks and roots reminds me of the joy I often felt playing soccer. For the first time in years, I feel strong and powerful, not controlled by my physical limitations. Im free.

Over the next two months, I hike twenty of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks, mountains originally measured over 4,000 feet. Every time I explore these ranges, I want to keep going, climbing up them to run down.

The miles under my feet accumulate and I develop cheap yet effective hiking systems. From the foods I eat, mainly Clif bars and apples smeared with peanut butter, to the secondhand thrift store clothes I buy. Over the summer, I save enough money to make one major gear purchase: my first trail running shoes, a pair of La Sportiva Raptors from The Mountaineer store in Keene Valley.

As the world of hiking and trail running expands before me, I see the need to take better care of myself, so I schedule a doctors appointment to get back on my medications. I notice my body becoming strong in new ways.

I also notice the majority of people on trail are men. I start to anticipate their stares and comments when I see them coming.

Are you hiking by yourself?

A woman who likes to hike? Youre my kind of woman.

My son hikes. Maybe I could introduce you.

In the beginning, I think their concern about a young woman hiking alone is an act, a comedy routine. But it isnt. Over time, I come to understand that those who hike in the High Peaks consider themselves a class abovemembers of an elite club. And its a boys club.

When male hikers arent trying to hit on me, theyre trying to outhike me. I find it laughable when they see me approaching and increase their pace. I smile as I pass by without breaking a sweat, my long legs chewing up the terrain at three to four miles per hour.

I give zero fucks. It doesnt stop me. It fuels me.

Im going to do a lot more than just turn some heads.

At the end of my first season of hiking in the High Peaks, I share some trail miles and friendly conversation with a stranger coming off Phelps Mountain. Before we part ways in the parking lot, she pulls a newspaper from her dashboard and says, This seems like something you would do.

The article is long and intensely detailed, recounting the recent climbing adventure of Jan Wellford and Cory Delavalle. They have just become the first to do something once thought impossible: In seven days, fourteen hours, and fifteen minutes, they connected all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in one continuous push, covering 196 miles and 70,000 feet elevation gain without any resupply or outside support. This is known as an Unsupported Fastest Known Time (FKT). There are also Self-Supported FKTs, where athletes are allowed to cache items along the route or resupply in towns along the way, and Supported FKTs, where athletes can have unlimited help from outside sources including a full crew and pacers.

Unsupported FKT immediately becomes my new sportwhat Im training for and the kind of athlete I want to be. I envision myself moving rhythmically through the mountains with long strides and everything I need to survive on my being. Those two men have no idea what theyve set in motion.

Im obsessed.