Anja Petterson: Flying Around The Trails, Often In Sandals

While mountain biking a couple of different times in the mountains surrounding Wenatchee, I came across this woman named Anja Petterson.

- Sarah Shaffer

She wore sandals while trail running, and while I was huffing and puffing on the uphill mountain bike grind, she went strolling by effortlessly while running. Not even breaking a sweat on a hot day.

She was talking away pleasantly while I felt like I may die on the uphill. She left me in the dust and did so gracefully and kindly.

This made me want to know, who is this awesome lady runner? So I asked her for an interview.

Little did I know she used to be a competitive dog musher, has broken the women’s record for the Enchantments trail and enjoys a beer on a nightly basis.

Question: Anja, I heard you moved to Wenatchee about a year ago from Spokane. What brought you to our area?

Answer: My husband and I were looking to relocate to somewhere smaller with more outdoor adventure opportunities, and when he had a job offer to come to Wenatchee, we were like LET’S GO.

My husband grew up in Leavenworth and as a kid, I’ve always loved central Washington. So it was the move we wanted and haven’t looked back — we love it here.

Question: What do you do for work, do you have kids or dogs? Tell us a bit about yourself.

Answer: My husband and I have been married for a couple of years... and hopefully kids are on the horizon soon.

Currently we have our two fur babies, a little black kitten and a big goofy German Shorthaired Pointer who keeps me company on most of my runs.

I work as a massage therapist for the WRAC, where I specialize in deep tissue and sports treatments. I’m also certified in running biomechanics and do personal sessions as well at the WRAC.

On the side, I take clients for running coaching purposes.

One more thing, I’m also a freelance artist and I work for my dad’s company where we paint murals on water tanks across the nation (random, right?). We stay pretty busy.