Unforgiving Hours

Hogan, Shannon: - Shannon Hogan is a former pro mountain biker, ultrarunner, and open-water swimmer based in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. She is the first female finisher of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores mountain bike race in Costa Rica. She holds the women's course record for the Pigtails Challenge 100K run and has successfully navigated multiple ridiculous-distance ultraruns, including a buckle-finish at Leadville Trail 100 and a sub-24-hour finish at the Javelina Jundred 100-mile run. Hogan has crewed every kind of endurance race on land and sea, including over eight hours of kayak support for an English Channel-qualifying swim. The mother of two graceful girls raised on the trail, Hogan has completed the Escape from Alcatraz swim, is a five-time finisher of the Ironman 140.6-mile triathlon and is a seven-time finisher of the Leadville Trail 100 bike race. A devotee of salt water, she swims year-round in Puget Sound without a wetsuit as a proud member of the Notorious Alki Swimmers. After ten consecutive Boston Marathon finishes, the merciless hills of Newton still leave her cracked. Lately her favorite recurring adventure is the Breck Epic, a six-day mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge, Colorado once described as "Part chess match. Part recovery contest. Part DISCO INFERNO." She is old enough to know better, but young enough to do these things anyway. Hogan has written about cycling for The Colorado Sun, running for Ultra Running Magazine, and open-water swimming for The Seattle Times.