For Terjesen, the ability to run has been a blessing. At age seven, she was diagnosed with scoliosis (genetic curvature of the spine) and wore a full brace for 9 years. During this period, she could only remove the brace for an hour each day. At age 16, when it became clear that the brace had not worked and her curve was worsening, she had surgery that left her inactive with two steel rods implanted from the top of her neck to her tailbone.

Terjesen’s competitive and endurance qualities emerged when she completed her first marathon in Copenhagen, 1 week after graduating from the University of Richmond in Virginia. She began running competitively during her Master’s and then her Fulbright PhD studies and discovered ultras in 2003 when she ran 8:22:09 in her first 100K, the fastest 100K time of any American woman for that year and 18^th in the world.

Terjesen says, "I admire something in every person I meet at ultras. I am especially thankful to the early pioneers, the race organizers, statisticians and historians who have done their bit to legitimatize, document and grow this great sport. I really love the camaraderie and find that ultrarunners the world over are a fairly eccentric but friendly bunch full of energy and laughs. I also really enjoy traveling around America, the UK, Europe and more distant parts of the world to meet new people and see great places."