Fitness | Consuming Cannabis & Inspiring the World

BY ANTONIO DEROSE

IN HONOR OF OUR WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUE, THIS MONTH’S CANNABIS AND FITNESS COLUMN HIGHLIGHTS SIX INSPIRING WOMEN WHO ARE SHATTERING THE STIGMAS OF CANNABIS THROUGH SPORTS.

MARTE’ HEPBURN Merrimac, Wisconsin | Running, Biking, Swimming, Rock Climbing, Hiking

Hepburn calls herself a “senior cannabis athlete.” Recently, at the age of 66, she set a High Five Challenge where she completed races in lengthening distances starting with a 5k and progressing to a 4.2 mile, 10k, Half Marathon, and finishing with a Full Marathon where she placed 1st in her age group. In addition to her running accolades, Hepburn is an avid traveler who incorporates fitness in her travel plans, as seen pictured here in her summit of Mt. Norquay Via Ferrata, Calgary, Canada. These are only a couple of her many athletic adventures, including her upcoming plans to bike 100 plus miles along the Erie Canal Bikeway in New York later this year. When asked how cannabis helps her as an athlete, Hepburn had this to say, “I find cannabis helps me get though the long distance running and takes the edge off any aches or pains. I can focus on the run, bike, swim, or climb rather than focusing on discomfort or pain.” Her routine around consuming cannabis includes edibles and topicals lotions, sprays, or oils which she uses before and after activity.

LIA ORIEL ARNTSEN Boulder, Colorado | Running, Hiking, Mountain Climbing, Picking Up Litter

Arntsen, who happens to be Marte’ Hepburn’s daughter, describes herself as an “awareness athlete.” She defines an awareness athlete as “someone who uses their athletic ability to complete races, adventures, and challenges to bring awareness to critical environmental and social issues and causes.” Just like her mother, Arntsen incorporates travel into her adventures as an athlete, and she is pictured here running in last year’s MoonRun Marathon in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where she raised $350 for sloths at the Toucan Rescue Ranch. Arntsen is also the founder of health and wellness company, You Canna Be Well, where she educates about the benefits of cannabis for a healthy lifestyle. Her advice for anyone curious about trying cannabis for activity is, “Play around with high CBD edibles and strains if you are concerned that cannabis may make you drowsy or unmotivated.” For her, “Cannabis acts as a motivator, to get me excited to go do something crazy, like run 25 miles through the jungle.” This year she’s planning an Eco-Triathlon involving biking, hiking, and cleaning up our planet.

SARA HAMALA San Diego, California | Walking, Hiking, Group Fitness

Hamala is a certified personal trainer who offers small group strength and stretch classes, private personal training sessions, hosts a biweekly hiking group, and is the Founder of lifestyle brand, Team Cannababes, where she encourages active living and cannabis for wellness. Hamala prefers to vape or smoke before a workout. She says it helps her “to dial in and focus on the workout ahead, as well as acting as a bronchodilator to decrease airway resistance and increase airflow. Cannabis is wellness, and—if you use it responsibly—it can really boost your overall performance.” Last year she completed the Rugged Maniac 5k which included 25 obstacles throughout the course, and she plans to do it again later this year.

BETHANY “B-TRAIN” SEMEIKS Denver, Colorado | CrossFit, Ice Hockey, Roller Derby

Semeiks says, “I don’t like being high, but I know the benefits of cannabis.” This is her reason for primarily using CBD topicals, and CBD only or very low THC edibles. “I’m not saying that I’m not sore and leg day doesn’t hurt, but it helps with mental clarity and tomorrow to be less painful.” Considering she spends 5 days a week working out at CrossFit Watchtower, on top of running Sales Strategies for GoFire, who produces their own Gofire Inhaler with an integrated plant medicine health suite, it’s safe to say she lives an incredibly active lifestyle. Being in the healthcare industry, her advice for choosing the right cannabis products is: “Look at the testing. If you’re thinking about buying a product and easily find the testing results, don’t waste your money.” Testing results can typically be found on the labeling, or on the manufacturer’s website.

ANNA SYMONDS

Portland, Oregon | Rugby, Yoga, Dance, Martial Arts

Symonds played in the USA Rugby Women’s Premier League and the USA Touch Rugby National Championships. She is a member of Athlete’s for Care, and the Director of Education for Eastfork Cultivars, where she manages the CBD Educational & Certification Program, CBD Certified™. Symonds is a strong proponent for only using “cannabis products that are grown organically and regeneratively, with a strong preference for sun-grown cannabis and craft hemp.” She says, “Organically-grown, full-spectrum products will give you the greatest range of potential therapeutic benefits. For me, flower is a tried and true remedy that I like to use the night before competition for rest, and then directly afterward for immediate pain relief and to speed healing.” This is great to hear from an athlete and cannabis educator, considering Florida recently passed legislation allowing flower consumption.

BECKY MADSEN

Las Vegas, Nevada | Trail Running, Ultra Running

Madsen embodies every aspect of what it means to be a trail runner. “It is important for me to not only race but to give back to the trail running community.” In just the past 12 months, her race resume is 11 races long, including the Black Canyon Ultras 60k, the Skyline to the Sea 50k, and the Kodiak 50k, spread out with several full marathons in between. Madsen prefers to vape before and during her endurance runs, and she smokes flower after to relax and help reduce pain and inflammation. She highly recommends the use of natural remedies like cannabis over common NSAIDS, which are known to have harmful side effects. For those who may be curious about cannabis and activity, she tells us, “I used to not smoke before I ran, and the thought of doing so seemed kind of strange. During a recent marathon, my buddy offered me up some CBD oil about 9 miles in. I was struggling with my run, in a negative headspace already and figured, why not? 30 minutes later, everything turned around for me. I got my groove back, was in a positive mindset, and ended up having a successful race. After that, I started experimenting more. I tried a few methods and a few strains, and now I have my goto routines.” On top of competing in another long list of races this year, she is also committed to giving back to the community by volunteering at an assortment of local races, pacing friends at the Javelina Jundred 100M, and crewing at the Leadville 100.