Hi, my name is Matt Paulson, otherwise known as “Ashley’s Husband” (there’s a story to that) or “Mattie” for those of you who follow Ashley on social media. Yes, Ash is active on social media but if you knew her in real life, you’d know she does not like to talk about herself nor her accomplishments. She wants to enjoy life and be in the moment- not thinking about the past nor the future- just that one moment in time. Because of this, she can’t sit long enough to write an ‘about me’ page because she thinks all anyone needs to know is what she wrote on the main page of this site. So, it’s up to me to tell you a little more about Ashley.
Here it goes:
Ashley is the definition of consistency and fun.. 'funsistency'.. Is that a word? If it was, it would have a picture of Ashley next to it in the dictionary. Let me tell you why.
Ash ran her first marathon at age 19 while we were engaged to be married. I believe her time was a 4:05. She wasn’t on the track team nor was she a collegiate athlete. She started running at a young age with her Dad and fell in love with it. Since then she has always ran for fun. Every run is a ‘fun run’ to her.
Throughout our 22 years of marriage, I’ve seen her run over 100 marathons, 25+ Ironman triathlons, 2 Ultra Triathlons of 281.2 miles each, 4+ 100 mile or longer races, set records, run in the Olympic Trials, and even run 9 miles to the hospital to give birth to my son (yep, true story). I have a bin that easily weighs over 50 pounds full of only race medals.
Ash and I were married at 19 and 23 respectively. We had twin daughters our first year of marriage and I was working full time and going to school full time while Ash was a full-time mom. I still remember her getting up at 5 am to go run or attend a fitness class early so she could fit it in before I left for the day knowing she wouldn’t see me until late that night. She stayed consistent and has remained consistent our entire marriage- even when it hasn’t been easy due to schedules, kids, and well, just life.
She’s not naturally gifted. It’s not genetics. It’s not luck. It’s years and years and years of consistency. Author John Maxwell said it best “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time”. Ashley is indeed the definition of this.
Here’s a list of some her highlights:
Yes, beneath the pink hair, the glitter, and sparkles, there is a badASH athlete that will inspire you to overcome obstacles and have fun in the process.
With love, “Mattie, Ashley’s Husband”
St. George, UT 84790
aidstation@ashkickn.com
