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The Long Run: Rachel Bambrick, Founder, Women in Ultrarunning
Description
Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection discuss community-building efforts at the Chamber, including Charlotte’s Seattle Picnic Society, her involvement in women’s outdoor groups, and upcoming Chamber events. They reflect on takeaways from the Council on Foundations conference in Seattle, emphasizing funder interest in connection, a conference design that fostered relationship-building, and research on belonging during transitions. This week’s guest is Rachel Bambrick, who shares how dance, ultimate frisbee, and then Philadelphia running communities shaped her connection journey, leading to ultrarunning and her nonprofit Women in Ultrarunning, which builds chapters, provides education, offers grants, and supports women in a male-dominated sport.
00:00 Introduction and Host Updates
05:39 Council on Foundations Conference Recap
14:26 Welcome Rachel Bambrick
18:04 Rachel's Journey: Dance to Ultra Running
24:46 Hardest Races and Mental Resilience
29:36 Women in Ultrarunning: The Community Rachel Built
43:44 Advice for Community Builders
48:31 Reflection: Mission-Driven Communities
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
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Rachel Bambrick, Women in Ultrarunning
Rachel is an ultramarathoner, UESCA-certified running coach, and the founder of Women in Ultrarunning, a nonprofit she launched in Philadelphia in January 2024 to bring more women into one of the most male-dominated corners of endurance sport. By day, she works as a pediatric occupational therapist, and her path to ultras began almost accidentally after she moved to Philadelphia in 2016 looking for community and started showing up to local run clubs. She has since logged multiple 100-plus-mile finishes, including Cocodona 250, the Divide 200, and the Javelina Jundred twice, and she currently holds the female unsupported FKT for Pennsylvania's Batona Trail. Women in Ultrarunning has grown from a local event series into a national nonprofit with chapters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, and Montana, organized around three pillars: in-person community, educational programming on everything from nutrition to wilderness first aid, and grants that lower the financial barrier to entry for women new to the sport. Rachel's vision is one where the work she does eventually becomes less necessary, because the trail running community has finally caught up to what women are capable of in it.
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Heylo
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments