How a Framingham Mom Found Her Sanity Training for a 20-Mile Hike (And Built a Community Along the Way)

Most of us are still working up the motivation to walk around the block in this weather. Rachel Hannah Marsh just signed up for a 20-mile hike. In November. For a June event. While juggling two kids under six, a new job she started two weeks ago, a dog, and weekly hiking meetups she organizes through our Adventures & Lattes Facebook group.

When people call her crazy, she has a response ready: "Actually, I think I'm finding my sanity, one step at a time."

The Friend Who Changes Everything

Have you ever met someone who does better with chaos?

Rachel is the definition of that. She goes to bed at 9pm, considers 6:30am sleeping in, and gets "really really really jealous" that her husband can sleep until 10 on Sundays. She works in sales, travels constantly, volunteers with a therapeutic riding program, stays active in her temple, and somehow still shows up every Saturday morning to lead hiking groups through MetroWest trails.

But last year, something was missing. "I felt like at work I wasn't being challenged enough," she told me. "I really do feel like you lose a little bit about yourself in the first years of your kids' lives, and I'm finally at that point where I'm refining myself. Which is very exciting."

Enter Meaghan - her work friend and the kind of person "that makes you be the best version of yourself. Everyone needs a friend like that."

Meaghan's goal was to run a marathon. And she wanted Rachel to do it with her.

"Running three miles knocks the wind out of me," Rachel laughed. "So instead, I was like - let's compromise. Let's do a 20-mile hike."

That's how they ended up signing up for the Mammoth March in June. Also a half marathon, because apparently compromises still involve running. "The training has been something that has helped me be me again."

What Happens When You're Deathly Allergic to Bees But Sign Up Anyway

Here's the thing: Rachel had never done anything like this before.

She used to be scared to hike, especially alone, because she's deathly allergic to bees. "Who wants to die out on the trail? Not me. But this actually allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, put myself out there, and be smart about going out on the trail."

Smart means: she created a training schedule blocked off in her calendar. Mondays are hike days, Tuesdays are run and weight days, Wednesdays are rest, Thursdays are hike days, Fridays are running, Saturdays are hike days, Sundays should be rest days.

Does she follow it to a T?

"Absolutely not. It's really hard to follow something completely, especially in the type of career that I'm in. I travel a lot. For example, I was gone all last week, so being back home it's hard to restructure and get right back at it."

But she did train while she was away - runs and treadmill work with elevation. The key, she's learned, is flexibility. "You 100% need to listen to your body and say hey, I've had a lot of long travel days, I need to take it easy. And that was me today."

Why She's Very Aware of Her Body

Training isn't just physical for Rachel. As someone who struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger, she's very aware of the line between pushing herself and pushing too hard.

"Do I have moments where I'm like, oh, is it just me preventing myself from pushing myself because I'm scared that I'm gonna fall back into a rabbit hole? There are moments of that. But then there's also moments of me being like - if I can do this, I can do hard things. And life is hard, so why not do the hard things?"

Two weekends ago, the group did their first long training hike - 12 miles. At mile 11, they hit a really steep hill. Everyone just looked at it.

"We were like, well, we did 11 miles, so what's one more? Yes, this hill is gonna suck, but we're gonna push ourselves through it."

And then something happened that Rachel didn't plan for.

"We actually each said something like 'hey, if I can do this hill, I can accomplish something,' and then we each said what we wanted to personally accomplish for the year. Which felt really amazing to say it out loud. And then we gunned up the hill so fast, and hopefully that represents how we're gonna conquer 2026."

There hasn't been a moment where Rachel's thought "why did I sign up for this?" Her mantra when things get hard: "Just remember - you've always survived your worst days. And that always puts my head right back in the right spot."

How Training Alone Became Something Bigger

Here's what Rachel didn't plan for: the community.

If you've been on any of the Saturday morning hikes posted in our Adventures & Lattes Facebook group this fall and winter, you've met Rachel. She's been the one consistently organizing them while I've been "hibernating like a bear."

I asked her why she started bringing other women along when she could just train alone.

"I'm gonna be honest, it's a little bit selfish. I prefer to hike with people. I think it also holds us accountable. You can't cancel when other people are meeting up with you."

But listen to what happened next.

Week after week, women showed up. The same four or five faces kept appearing. They started meeting up on days Rachel couldn't make it. They stopped being strangers who happened to hike the same trail and became something else entirely.

"They're not people that I would've met if there wasn't this group," Rachel said. "We're all in different stages of our lives, with different types of lives. And it's just really cool. We're all together and we're all going through our stages of life together."

During that 12-mile training hike - after they each shared what they wanted to accomplish in 2026 and gunned up that final hill together - they stopped four or five times along the way. They had lunch. PB&J sandwiches, specifically.

"Delicious. Who doesn't like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

But it wasn't really about the sandwiches.

"It's like a therapy session," Rachel said. "We go out, we walk, we talk. A lot of us women struggle to kind of find a piece of ourselves after having kids. Or the working mom trying to struggle - it's not like we really can find time for ourselves. Every Saturday morning really just allows me to have time for myself, and I'm really grateful for my husband for allowing this."

She paused. "It's just such an incredible thing that we can kind of just talk about our feelings and leave it out there in the woods."

The Juggling Act 

So how does Rachel actually fit this all in? Two young kids (the oldest will be six in February, the other is three), a new job she's still training for, a dog, a husband, staying active in their temple, volunteering with a therapeutic riding program, and organizing weekly hikes?

People ask her this all the time. Her answer might disappoint you if you're looking for a magic formula.

"I think the biggest secret I have is I go to bed at 9 o'clock at night." She laughed. "I get really really really jealous that my husband is able to sleep in until 10 on a Sunday. I'm like, how did you just do that?"

But the real secret isn't the sleep schedule. It's knowing that plans don't always work out, and that's okay.

"I think it's important to know that sometimes plan A doesn't always work out, but that's why we have plans B through Z. You gotta be flexible and it's OK if things don't go 100% by plan. I think having children has definitely taught me that. You have a birth plan, and neither of my kids' births went to plan. You just have to be willing to roll with the punches and make it work."

When people call her crazy for training through winter with everything else on her plate, she's ready with her response:

"I feel like I get called crazy all the time. That's not anything new - it's always been that way since I was a young child. I think that I am a little bit crazy, I am a little bit out there, I am a little bit myself. But you know what? I am who I am and I am grateful for that."

She paused, then delivered the line that sums up her entire journey:

"When they say that I'm crazy for doing this, I say - actually, I think I'm finding my sanity, one step at a time."

What She'd Tell You If You're Thinking About Joining

I asked Rachel what she'd tell someone who's been thinking about joining a hike but feels nervous about their fitness level or not knowing anyone.

"I think anybody can come. Make sure you're paying attention to which hikes we're doing - we do a short hike and a long hike, so if you wanna start, probably starting with a shorter hike is a great way to get going."

But here's the important part: "We did have people that did the 12-mile hike but didn't have time to do the full thing, so they turned back, which is totally fine. You just have to be prepared that you've got options."

No one gets left behind. They pace themselves. "It's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be an experience."

And if you're nervous about trying something new - not just hiking, anything - Rachel has advice that came from an old sales manager but applies to everything:

"You have to be uncomfortable being uncomfortable. That may sound weird to some, but it really will help you grow in life."

She believes strongly in trying things that scare you. "Even if it's trying skiing or getting on a horse - you have to try it at least once. You gotta cross it off that list. Even if it's scary, you try it. And if it's still scary and you don't wanna do it again, you don't do it again. But at least you can say 'I tried it.' There's something satisfying about pushing yourself to that uncomfortable area."

Her final thought on this: "If you don't give it a try, you won't know. What's the worst that's gonna happen? You find out you hate it, or you find something that you love forever."

What Happens After the 20-Mile Hike

After the Mammoth March in June, is Rachel done?

Of course not.

"My friend Meaghan texted me on New Year's and was like, 'I have another thing to add to our list for goals.'"

Meaghan wants to do a Ragnar relay race - Reach the Beach, September 12-13. It's a multiple-day event where you run through the night. They need to build a team of 12, and two people from the hiking group have already volunteered.

"We haven't booked it yet, but it is a long haul."

The Real Reason This Story Matters

This isn't really a story about a 20-mile hike.

It's a story about what happens when you say yes to something that scares you. When you find a friend who makes you braver. When you accidentally build a community while training for something you've never done before.

It's about losing yourself in the chaos of early motherhood and slowly, deliberately, finding pieces of yourself again. One Saturday morning at a time. One steep hill at a time. One PB&J lunch at mile 9 at a time.

Rachel will tell you she's a little bit crazy, a little bit out there, a little bit herself. What she won't tell you - but what everyone who hikes with her knows - is that she's the kind of person who makes other people braver too.

The kind of person who organizes weekly hikes through winter. Who stops for PB&J at mile 9. Who creates space for women to share what they want to accomplish before tackling the hard hills together.

The kind of person who, when you ask if the group hikes are more about training or socializing, says: "It's a combination of the two. It's also mental. This group has really helped me find myself and find my inner peace."

Your Turn

Rachel's next training hike is posted in the Adventures & Lattes Facebook group. Saturday morning, early, wherever she's picked for that week.

All paces welcome. All fitness levels welcome. Nobody gets left behind. 

And if you've been thinking about trying something that scares you - whether it's a hike or something completely different - maybe this is your sign.

After all, as Rachel would say: "We only live once, and we should be grateful for every day that we have and the body that we are given, and we should cherish it every day."

What's the worst that could happen? You find out you hate it.

Or you find something you love forever.

Find Rachel's upcoming training hikes in the Adventures & Lattes Facebook group. And if you're reading this thinking "I need a hiking buddy" - that's exactly why she's posting them.

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