When Women Show up Together: Lessons From a Mountain Relay Race

Some days stay with you longer than others.

Today was one of those days.

This morning my work participated in the annual Mountain Madness relay race, and event where each teammate takes on a different leg of the challenge. The race moved through several disciplines - Downhill skiing, skating, running, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing - with each person stepping forward in their own way to help carry the team through.

I volunteered to take the first leg as the downhill skier.

And not just any run. I found out after, it was a double black diamond.

I didn't volunteer because I thought I would be the best person for it. I volunteered because I wanted to push myself a little further than I had this season. I knew it would be hard. I knew it would stretch me. But something in me wanted to say yes anyway.

Standing at the top of that run, I expected the usual rush of nerves.

But something interesting happened.

Instead of the anxious buzz that can sometimes fill my mind before doing something difficult, there was a strange sense of calm and freedom in my brain. I felt focused. Present. Like my mind had quieted just enough to let me do the thing in front of me.

The run itself was icy and hard. - BUT I made it down.

And honestly, I did way better than I expected.

What stayed with me most from the day, though, wasn't just the skiing.

It was the team.

Each part of the race asked someone to step forward - whether it was skating, running, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing through the trails. Everyone brought something different. Everyone had their own strengths. Everyone had their own nerves too.

One of our teammates stepped up to do the skating portion of the race even though she had never skated before. Instead of letting that stop her, she simply went for it.

That courage set the tone for the whole day.

We cheered for each other.

We celebrated every win.

We laughed through the messy parts.

No one was trying to be perfect. We were simply showing up and giving what we could for the team.

There's something incredibly powerful about being surrounded by a group of women willing to step into challenges together, trusting the people around them will support them along the way.

There were moments where we all wondered if we were doing well enough.

But those thoughts softened when we looked around and realized something important:

We were doing it together.

When people feel supported by the group around them, it becomes easier to take risks, try something new, and push a little further than they might on their own. Researcher Amy Edmondson found that teams thrive in environments where individuals feel safe enough to take risks and support each other through challenge.

That was exactly the feeling that stayed with me throughout the race.

And somehow, that made the whole experience feel lighter.

After crossing the finish line, we all came together with smiles and that quiet sense of accomplishment that comes from doing something hard together.

Each of us had faced something new along the way.

Long-distance runners were suddenly running short and fast.

Someone stepped into skating without ever having done it before.

I found myself skiing a double black diamond.

Others pushed through snowshoeing that wasn't their usual rhythm and cross-country skiing on melting, slushy trails instead of perfectly groomed tracks

The day itself had its own sense of humor too.

The snow has started to melt as the weather warms, which meant the ski hill was icy and unpredictable. The snowshoe and cross-country trails weren't ideal either. In fact, the coordinators had been out early that morning shoveling snow to make the race possible, which meant parts of the track even had patches of grass showing through.

But instead of frustration, it created something else entirely.

There was a sense of laughability to the whole day. We laughed at the conditions, encouraged each other through the awkward moments, and embraced the imperfections of it all.

Watching everyone step forward, try something unfamiliar, and cheer each other on reminded me how powerful it is when women come together in that way.

With International Women's Day being this weekend, it felt like a powerful reminder of what that spirit really looks like in action.

Its not always big speeches or grand moments.

Sometimes it looks like a group of women showing up on a mountain, facing challenges they've never practiced, laughing through icy trails and slushy tracks, and encouraging each other every step of the way.

Sitting back and watching it all unfold filled me with so much joy.

Not because of the race, but because of what it represented - community, courage, and the strength that emerges when women support each other.

Moments like this make me incredibly proud of the new chapter I've stepped into with the YWCA Banff.

Because at its heart, that work is about the same thing I witnessed today: Creating spaced where women feel empowered, supported, and encouraged to show up as they are.

As the day came to an end, I kept thinking about how much happed in just a few hours.

The nerves at the top of the mountain.

The courage of trying something hard.

The laughter of celebrating together afterward.

And the quiet awareness of how my brain experiences the world in it own way.

All of it was part of the experience.

Today reminded me that growth doesn't always come from having everything figured out. Sometimes it comes from showing up, trying something new, and allowing yourself to be supported by the people around you,

Because often the courage to try something hard doesn't come from within us alone - it grows in the presence of people who make it safe enough to try.

Sources & Inspirations

• Amy Edmondson (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly.

• Brené Brown (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.

• YWCA – Global movement dedicated to empowering women, promoting leadership, and building stronger communities.