Returning guest Marina LeGree, Executive Director of Ascend Athletics, is always a delight to have on The Dark Zone. In this episode, we discuss her introduction to adventure racing, the parallels between Ascend and AR, and how her family is again returning to The Maine Summer Adventure Race.
LeGree founded Ascend Athletics in Afghanistan in 2015 — taking girls into the mountains to teach navigation skills, rope work, and what it feels like to be part of a team. The Taliban shut that down in 2021. Ascend pivoted to Pakistan, and helped to resettle 134 Afghan alumni across three continents. The work of Ascend, in the face of incredible challenges, didn’t stop. Marina and her team kept moving forward.
It is easy to see the strong connection between Ascend and AR culture. There is always difficult terrain to traverse, the need for good navigation, and genuine teamwork. The Afghan alumni who made it out of Kabul in 2021 are now leading Ascend’s Hike for Her events in Dublin, North Carolina, and around the world. One of them just volunteered to take the Ascend model to Africa. And some have dipped their toes into the AR waters.
This is a conversation about adaptation when situations change rapidly, about building teams across impossible cultural distances, and why good work matters in an evolving world. Thank you to Marina for coming on the show!
Shownotes:
Ascend Athletics Hike for Her – https://www.ascendathletics.org/event
Sponsor Links:
ARWS Junior World Champs – https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6
Youth Adventure Race Camp – https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026
The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast 