Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Wied.
Hi Rebecca, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story really begins with my struggle with anorexia. I was diagnosed when I was 13 and spent a significant part of my adolescence and young adulthood in and out of treatment, including a year-long hospitalization in 2020. For a long time, my world became very small, and so much of my life revolved around food, exercise, and trying to control my body. I never could have imagined then that movement would eventually become one of the things that helped me build a life that felt bigger than my illness.
Running entered my life during that time, but over the years, my relationship with it completely changed. It went from something I associated with control and punishment to something that gave me freedom, community, confidence, and a reason to see what I was capable of. I started running longer distances, eventually completing marathons, three Ironmans, and some pretty crazy adventures, including running rim-to-rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, completing the Camino de Santiago, and traveling to more than 30 countries, many of them solo. One of the most surreal experiences of my life was running the Marathon Pour Tous during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
I went to Baylor University and earned my bachelor’s degree in Health Science Studies, and later earned my master’s in Exercise Science & Wellness, Fitness & Performance. I began coaching runners, working at Fleet Feet, becoming a Chevron Houston Marathon Ambassador, and eventually becoming a Nike Women Running Ambassador. Through all of those experiences, I realized that what I loved most wasn’t just running—it was the way movement could connect people and give them confidence in themselves.
Today, so much of what I do comes back to that original experience. I care deeply about helping people develop a healthy and joyful relationship with movement, rather than seeing exercise as something they have to earn or use to change themselves. My eating disorder shaped so much of who I am, but it doesn’t define the life I live today. If anything, it gave me a perspective that I carry into everything I do: life is meant to be experienced, and movement should help us experience more of it—not make our world smaller.
I’m still figuring out exactly where my path will take me, but I know I want to keep building communities, creating experiences, and helping people discover what they’re capable of. Running just happened to be the thing that showed me how.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. There have been a lot of twists, setbacks, and moments when I had no idea what my life was going to look like.
The biggest struggle has been my eating disorder and all the other mental health disorders I’ve been diagnosed with. Being diagnosed with anorexia, anxiety, OCD, and depression at 13 and spending years in treatment throughout middle school, high school, and college, changed the trajectory of my life in ways I never could have anticipated. There were periods when simply getting through the day felt like an accomplishment. Even after leaving treatment, moving forward wasn’t as simple as deciding I was better and moving on. Learning how to trust myself, my body, and the life I wanted took years, and it continues to be something I am intentional about.
One of the more complicated parts of my journey has been learning that something can be both a huge part of your life and something you have to constantly redefine. Running is a perfect example. At one point, exercise was deeply intertwined with my eating disorder. I had to learn how to separate movement from punishment and control and discover what it could be when it came from a place of joy. That process completely changed my relationship with running.
There have also been plenty of more ordinary struggles—figuring out my career, taking risks without knowing where they would lead, dealing with rejection, and feeling like I was behind when my path didn’t look like everyone else’s. I’ve changed directions more than once, and I’ve had plenty of moments where I questioned whether I was doing the right thing.
But I think those experiences have made me much more comfortable with uncertainty. My life today looks nothing like what I imagined when I was 13, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve learned that progress isn’t always linear, and sometimes the detours end up leading you somewhere better than the path you originally planned.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
A huge part of my life today revolves around running. I’m a runner, community builder, and now work full-time in the active lifestyle and outdoor industry as a Field Marketing Specialist with Aventon. Running has taken me from local Houston races to some of the biggest stages in the sport, and it has given me a community and a career that I never could have planned for when I first started.
I’ve completed 13 marathons, three Ironmans, and countless other races, including the Boston Marathon and the Marathon Pour Tous during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Houston is especially meaningful to me because it’s where I live, where I’ve built so much of my running community, and where I ran my current marathon PR of 3:02:39. Most recently, I stepped outside my comfort zone and completed my first 100K, which was a completely different challenge from anything I had done before. I’m currently training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon with a big goal of finally breaking three hours.
I’ve always believed that running is about so much more than race times. One of the things I love most is inspiring people to get into running, try something they never thought they could do, and discover what they’re capable of. Whether that’s someone signing up for their first 5K or someone chasing a huge personal goal, I love being the person who encourages them to take that first step and pushes them in a way that feels positive and empowering. I’m also the founder of Run and Plunge Club, a Houston community that brings people together for a run and cold plunge each month. Creating a space where people can challenge themselves, meet new people, and have fun in the process has become one of the things I’m most proud of.
Travel is another huge part of who I am and how I see the world. I’ve traveled to more than 30 countries, many of them solo, and some of my most meaningful experiences have come from putting myself in unfamiliar places and figuring things out along the way. I’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, completed the Camino de Santiago, traveled through Iceland in a van, and explored mountains and trails in New Zealand. Those experiences have taught me that some of the best moments in life happen when you are willing to be uncomfortable, curious, and completely present. As much as I love traveling and seeing new places, I’ve realized that I feel most at peace when I’m outside—especially hiking or somewhere surrounded by mountains. There is something about being in the mountains that makes everything else feel quieter and puts life into perspective.
I’m also really excited about this next chapter of my career with Aventon. As a Field Marketing Specialist, I get to work in the active lifestyle and outdoor space through events, community, partnerships, and marketing, which allows me to take the skills and experiences I’ve built through running and apply them in a completely different industry. I love that my career doesn’t have to look exactly like my passion for running for the two to complement each other. Running has taught me so much about discipline, consistency, community, and pushing beyond what I think I’m capable of, and I bring those lessons into my professional life every day.
Balancing a full-time job with serious training and racing will definitely be a challenge, especially while pursuing a sub-three-hour marathon, but I’m excited about it. I think what sets me apart is that I genuinely love the process. I love the early mornings, the hard workouts, the races, the travel, the people, and even the days when training doesn’t go perfectly. I’m not interested in being a runner only when it’s convenient. I want to see how far I can take it while also building a meaningful career and life outside of the sport. For me, the goal has never been just to become a faster runner. It’s to see how much of a life I can build around the things I love.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I honestly don’t believe luck is what has gotten me to where I am today. I believe God has had a hand in every part of my life and has used the people around me, especially my family and close friends, to shape me into the person I am today.
My life has not always been easy, and there have been many moments when I could have given up. I’ve faced things that have tested me physically, mentally, and emotionally, and I’ve had to learn how to keep fighting even when I didn’t know what the outcome would be. I think one of the things that has carried me through is a determination to never stop fighting for my life and for the life I want to live.
I also believe God has put incredible people in my life at exactly the right moments. My family and closest friends have supported me through some of the hardest seasons of my life and have celebrated me through the best ones. The people I’ve met through running, travel, work, and the communities I’ve built have also shaped me in ways I never could have predicted.
So when I look at the things I’ve been able to accomplish, I don’t think, “I’ve been lucky.” I think about how much God has carried me, how much the people I love have poured into me, and how hard I’ve worked to keep moving forward. I’m proud of the strength and resilience I’ve developed, but I’m also incredibly grateful because I know I didn’t get here alone.
I think that’s one of the biggest lessons my life has taught me: you can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can choose to keep fighting, keep growing, and keep believing that there is more ahead of you.
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