ASHLEY ZAGST

To say Ashley Zagst is an active human is a massive understatement. As the kid who couldn’t simply walk anywhere, she ran, tumbled, jumped and spun from point A to point B. Ashley has been a lifelong runner and dancer and loves to surf, ski, skateboard or engage in anything that keeps her outdoors. As a high school runner, she snagged All American status in cross country and a Texas State Championship in the 1600m.

Ashley trained at the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC before beginning her professional dance career. After over a decade of juggling dancing, modeling, bartending, and personal training, she moved to Oregon to study dance at the University of Oregon. At the U o f O, she jumped back into running competitively as a member of the UO Running Club coached by Tom Heinonen. After graduation she moved to San Francisco where she started her own contemporary ballet company. After a few years in the Bay Area, Ashley returned to the lush Pacific Northwest and made a career switch to the world of tech startups as the marketing team lead at Bravado.

After joining the Portland Running Club in 2016, Ashley decided to leverage the swim skills she learned surfing and try triathlon. She jumped into a local triathlon with a used road bike and was instantly hooked on multisport. Since then Ashley has been seen on the podium at a host of local sprint and Olympic races and competed in USAT Nationals in 2017. When she’s not training or racing, Ashley is in the dance studio, in the ocean, or on the mountain, traveling for speaking engagements about uncovering & fostering creativity, or playing with her dog, Kiwi. Ashley is a member of the Portland Triathlon Club.