Outdoor Diva Rebecca Gardner
My first thought when reading Outside Magazine and seeing the Mountain Hardwear Diva contest was: "This contest was created for Rebecca." In 2007 alone, Rebecca was a professor of outdoor education for a distinguished university in Boston and a part time nanny, inspiring two children living in Gloucester Bay to "get out" more by riding their bikes & going for walks in pouring rain. Rebecca still found time to work for an outdoor retailer while in MA -- talk about sweet part time job and discount on the gear (Mountain Hardwear) she loves most! Rebecca would get up in the morning and run the trail behind her house three miles to her favorite coffee shop in town. Rebecca, in the harsh, windy, unforgiving North Atlantic winters would run the perimeter of the bay training for what else but the Boston Marathon!? She raised thousands for a cure to Multiple Sclerosis -- a disease to which she lost her grandmother just two years previous. The marathon was one of the coldest, wettest on record -- winds gusting upwards of 40mph -- into her face. Ever resilient, Rebecca finished with a personal record, and has a goal of running either half or full marathons in every state.
The Diva decided to return as a Sherpa to the Adirondack High Peaks in upstate New York. This past summer, Rebecca lead several educational backpacking adventures; all at least seven days in length, full-packing the likes of Whiteface Mountain -- and guess which pack she relied on? During one of her precious days off, Rebecca and some female friends swam the first leg of the Lake Placid Triathlon course while THE BOYS CANOED alongside! Talk about Diva!
At the end of the day, Rebecca is not just a Mountain Hardwear Diva - Rebecca is a Mountain Hardwear Diva's Diva.
Nominated by Steven Darling.
