By KATE POSS

Special to the Record

South Whidbey has a nationally known ultra athlete in its midst.

Willow Dolde has succeeded in the world of ultra marathons, which are the most grueling of foot races that test the very limits of human endurance. Dolde regularly competes and places in ultramarathons as long as 100 miles. Often the runners have to cope with rugged terrain, heat or inclement weather.

As impressive as Dolde’s athletic record is, most Whidbey residents likely aren’t aware of these accomplishments. Instead, Dolde is known as the ever-present, all-weather runner clad in a pink top and skirt, long pink hair flying in the breeze, feet bare or in simple sandals.

The longtime resident and former teacher uses the pronouns “they,” “them” and “their” and identifies as nonbinary.

Dolde is well aware of the national focus on transgender people, especially athletes, under the Trump Administration and is concerned about a possible retreat from “nonbinary” entry categories in the competitions. Dolde has made a point of not competing against women out of a sense of fairness, although men may not have as much as a physical advantage in such endurance sports. Dolde said women are sometimes the overall winners in ultramarathons.

“I never want to steal someone else’s glory or diminish their accomplishments,” Dolde said.

Dolde made national news as one of the first people to register in ultramarathons that added “nonbinary” categories. In the fall of 2023, Trail Runner magazine reported that Dolde led racers in the new category in the Javelina Jundred, “the biggest, wildest party in the trail running world.”

Regardless of one’s gender fluidity, it takes considerable determination and endurance to become an ultra athlete.

Ultra athletes are those who run distances beyond traditional 26.1-mile marathons. The longest ultramarathons are those whose 100-mile course is completed in under 24 hours. Dolde seeks to improve their time to 17 hours or under.

The world record for a 100-mile marathon is 10:51:39, which is held by Lithuanian Aleksandr “Sania” Sorokin. Camille Herron holds the women’s record at 12:41:11.

“I’ve run a bunch of 100s in the 17:40 range and want to get under 17:30 and 17,” Dolde wrote in a text.

Running barefoot has been therapeutic for Dolde, who was limited by injuries until about 15 years ago. While attending college during the 1980s on the East Coast, Dolde found that their body rebelled.

“I made a couple of friends and we all liked running — we ran almost every day — 5k, 10k, 15k,” Dolde said. “We aspired to run longer races. But I kept getting injured, knee, hip, back. I’d take some time off. Heard of 50 milers, but that seemed magical and impossible, something I would think about some day.”

While attending grad school at the University of Iowa, Dolde continued running marathons, participating in cross training with bikes but kept getting injured.

Then came romance, marriage and a pair of children, along with a move to Whidbey Island.

“About 2010, 2011, while teaching at Waldorf, the book ‘Born to Run’ came out. It’s about the Mexico Tarahumara indigenous tribe who run in sandals 50 miles a day,” Dolde said. “The messengers in ancient Greece ran in sandals.”

Thinking this method might work to prevent injuries, Dolde experimented first with soft-soled, five-toed shoes.

“I’d be in beautiful woods in no or minimal shoes,” Dolde said. “The injuries that plagued me no longer did. With barefoot style, your feet do the work. Your back, knees and hips don’t do all the work. Since then I’ve been running mostly barefoot, my feet are conditioned and strong. I’m sure the bone density is insane.”

Dolde’s two border collies, Rocky and Latte, prompted Dolde to train for running longer and longer distances. Starting out with shorter runs when they were puppies, their human increased the distance as the dogs grew older. In addition to running with the dogs, Dolde competed in a Seattle marathon followed almost immediately by a 50-mile run and realized increasing the distance to a hundred miles was a reality within reach.

Meanwhile, teaching is a natural skill for Dolde, who worked at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School until 2023. They credited the synergy working with other early childhood faculty Vanessa Kohlhaus and Dyanne Harshman at the time to the success of the program.

Times changed, and COVID was a catalyst for Willow to explore and express themself.

“The best way to say this is I’ve been an outdoor teacher for 8-10 years and can really refine and augment the way we teach children outside, and I had fallen in love with the woods,” Dolde said. “I brought children to their favorite spots. On the bounce back from COVID, society was looking for a way to have children be away from their parents for more than four hours. Too many needed full-time daycare. I felt I couldn’t commit to that ‘normal’ way of life.”

At the same time Dolde worked for and is still employed as a server with Langley’s Saltwater Fish House & Oyster Bar since 2016 to supplement income. They began experimenting with wearing women’s clothing.

“I’ve preferred women’s clothing all my life,” Dolde said. “But I didn’t wear it until around 2020 and various awakenings were going on. I’ll credit Waldorf for opening possibilities for me that I don’t have to be one thing or another. For a while I liked Boden — a glorious British brand of women’s clothes. I worked at Saltwater during the pandemic. I’d wear pink pants and a bright blouse.”

Complimented on the outfits, Dolde felt encouraged to express more and more of what was really inside.

“With the permission of being nonbinary, not having to earn someone’s permission, I can let my inner self shine through and not be one way or another,” Dolde said.

Taking the newfound freedom of expression to running, Dolde said their preference is for bright clothing, which can give focus for ultra athletes.

“I remember 2018 or 2019 running the 5k and 10k, back-to-back by the Seattle Marathon Association at a Seattle Park,” Dolde said. “I did pretty well. I remember a teenage boy wearing a bright orange shirt. It was easy to track him and keep my pace so I could adjust my pace. Some wear gray for the opposite effect — so they’re not noticed, and then zoom ahead at the end. For a year, I wore black and gray trail running clothes. I hated it. I liked bright colors.”

Dolde recently ran from home to the soccer field at the South Whidbey Sports Complex with a hot pink watch cap, long pink hair, a spray of sparkly freckles across nose and cheeks, a pink Lululemon top, pink skirt, green sparkly finger and toe nails.

The unique style is noticed by folks encountered on the course as well.

“Running in desert races with burly tough guys, they’ll say ‘I’m not sure if I’m more impressed by what you’re wearing or that you’re running in sandals,” Dolde said.

Photo by David Welton Willow Dolde is an ultra marathoner who is well known on South Whidbey for running trails and roads dressed in pink.