Running Her Own Race: How Ultra Runner Mandy Mullen Built Run Windsor Her Way
The cold Colorado morning air bites at Mandy Mullen‘s face as she hands a flyer to yet another runner on the Windsor trail. It’s 2017, and this grassroots marketing approach—literally stopping fellow runners mid-stride—feels both awkward and necessary. There’s no roadmap for what she’s trying to build, no template to follow. Just an idea, a marketing degree, and the same quiet voice that has pushed her through countless training runs: just keep going. That is a lesson that ultra runners and business leaders can follow to success.
“I had so much imposter syndrome,” Mandy recalls about those early days. “I hadn’t even officially been part of a run group before, and here I am trying to create one, charge people money for it, and write them training plans.”
But like any good endurance athlete knows, you don’t run a half marathon without first running a mile. And you certainly don’t build a thriving race company without……handing out a few flyers?
Finding Her Stride in a New Community
When Mandy moved from Fort Collins to Windsor, Colorado, she noticed something missing: a running community. Having nursed Boston Marathon qualifying aspirations herself, she understood how vital community support could be for runners—especially women juggling careers, families, and personal goals.
“I met another mom who was a runner,” Mandy explains. “We were on a run one day, our kids were in the gym daycare, and we were talking about the struggles of being a runner when you’re also trying to be a new mom and manage a household.”
That conversation sparked what would become Run Windsor, initially conceived as an affordable women’s running group offering training plans for various distances. For $120 for six months, members received personalized coaching and something far more valuable—community.
What made Mandy’s approach unique from the beginning was her instinct to connect dots others hadn’t. With her marketing background, she saw an opportunity to bridge local health businesses with her runners.
“I thought, my runners, a lot of them just had babies. They need to understand the anatomy of their body after having babies. Who can help them? Probably a chiropractor or pelvic floor specialist,” she says. “And those specialists probably want to meet my runners because that could get them new clients.”
These free seminars for both runners and local health professionals became a signature element of Run Windsor’s offerings, distinguishing it from traditional running clubs.
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The Leap from Coach to Race Director
Success came quickly. At their first informational meeting at a local brewery, 25 of 30 women signed up on the spot. Mandy fought back tears, realizing they’d struck a chord in the community.
What happened next shows how Mandy’s story differs from most entrepreneurial tales. Rather than following a careful business plan or cautious growth strategy, she simply kept saying “yes” to opportunities—even when she had no experience.
When Windsor’s Parks and Recreation department approached her about taking over the town’s races, Mandy didn’t hesitate.
“Never been a race director,” she admits, “but up until a year ago, I wasn’t a run coach either.”
Her first race directing experience came with the Santa Catch 5K in December 2018. Despite the learning curve, Mandy found her calling.
“At that first one, I just fell in love,” she says. “The energy, the people, being able to feel like our team got all these people to experience those smiles and those miles and that completion. I was sold.”
Soon, Run Windsor expanded from managing two 5Ks a year to directing twelve events annually, including ultra marathons and relays.
Running a Business Her Way
What stands out most clearly throughout Mandy’s journey is her commitment to doing things on her terms. While some race directors focus on attracting elite athletes or maximizing profits, Mandy prioritizes community culture.
“I don’t care if people think it’s silly that we have cold plunges with colored rubber duckies at our races,” she says with characteristic authenticity. “That’s what I want to do.”
This philosophy extends to her sponsorship approach. Unlike many race directors who chase as many sponsors as possible, Mandy caps her partnerships to ensure quality relationships with each one.
“I want to be able to do funny reels and videos with my sponsors and take time to really interact with them in unique ways,” she explains. “I don’t really want to have 50 sponsors for the year.”
Her willingness to buck industry norms hasn’t always been easy. In 2019, Mandy took another significant risk by taking over a struggling fitness studio—just months before COVID-19 would force gyms nationwide to close.
“I took out a loan, went all in. I’m in it for the long haul,” she recalls of her decision. “Right at that time, I just started to feel like we were breaking even in the gym. Maybe I could start paying myself a little bit. We were no longer using Run Windsor profits to subsidize my gym rent payments.”
Then the pandemic hit, forcing difficult decisions and eventually leading to the gym’s closure.
When the Ultra Runner Knows to DNF
Perhaps the most powerful parallel between Mandy’s running and entrepreneurial journeys is her evolving relationship with “failure.” As both an ultra runner and business owner, she’s learned when to push through difficulties and when to make the tough call to stop.
After completing the brutal Cruel Jewel 100-miler in May, Mandy attempted Leadville 100 just three months later—her third time at the iconic race. Climbing back up Hope Pass, exhaustion hit hard.
“I really had to wrestle with my feelings and why I was there. What did I have to prove? Was the fight worth continuing on?” she reflects.
At Twin Lakes aid station, with her cutoff time approaching, Mandy made the decision to drop. When her 10-year-old son asked what was wrong, concerned that she was quitting, Mandy saw a teaching moment.
“I think it was important to show them that we can sign up for audacious things, we can dream big, we can go for the gold, but we can also admit when it’s not our day,” she says. “It’s not failure but learning and pivoting.”
This same wisdom guided her through the painful decision to close her gym. Though financially and emotionally challenging, Mandy recognizes how that experience strengthened her.
“I am so much stronger and so much more resilient than Mandy in 2017 and 2018,” she reflects. “Back then, you could have come to me and said, ‘No, that’s a bad idea, you can’t do it,’ and I probably would have said, ‘Okay, I guess you’re probably right.’ That, fortunately, is no longer my personality.”
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Avoiding the Comparison Trap
In an era when social media constantly highlights others’ achievements, Mandy maintains a refreshingly authentic approach. Rather than presenting a curated version of entrepreneurship or athletic success, she shares the struggles alongside the triumphs.
“I just try to be a realist to my followers about what I’m going through,” she explains. “If I can get on every once in a while and do a cringe face selfie and say, ‘This is today’s life as a race director—it’s not pretty, it’s not fun,’ that helps me to remind myself it’s okay to not have to compete with others.”
This authenticity resonates with her community. “I get responses from people that say, ‘Hey, thanks for showing you had a hard day because most of the time it looks like you just live this perfect life,'” she says.
Instead of looking over the fence at what other race directors are doing, Mandy focuses inward: “What’s going to make us happy? What’s going to make us successful in this community?”
The Starting Line Is All That Matters
Today, Run Windsor has become a cornerstone of the community Mandy once found lacking. Her races emphasize inclusivity, fun, and support over competition. Her approach to business mirrors her philosophy about running—start where you are, with what you have.
“Just start,” she advises aspiring entrepreneurs and athletes alike. “You’re not going to toe the line at your first marathon having just started. You will have taken little baby steps all along the way. It’s the same thing in business.”
Mandy believes that authenticity is the true north star for both endeavors: “If you go back to your reason why, your true authentic self, and you’re doing it for the right reason, it’ll work out.”
The obstacles—whether mountains on a 100-mile course or financial challenges in business—are simply part of the journey. “Don’t be afraid of the hard trail because you’re going to learn something,” Mandy says. “After you trip over that stick, you’re going to think about more core activation and how to become a better trail runner. Same thing when you’re running a business and an obstacle that you’ve never dealt with pops up. You’re going to learn a lot from that.”
In both running and business, Mandy Mullen has learned that the path doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s to be successful. There are road runners, trail runners and ultra runners just like there are small, medium and large business leaders and all are looking to achieve their own version of success.
Sometimes, the best way forward is to create your own course and run it your way—colored rubber duckies in cold plunges and all.
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