Mya Marsh Embraces the Adventurous Side of Mountain Biking

Like the other graduating seniors on the team, Marsh got into mountain biking during COVID, when there were not many other options for participating in sports. What drew her into the sport was working out outside in the woods and competing against herself, trying to beat her own time going uphill and enjoying the downhill afterwards. “It’s different from any other sport that I have done,” she said. “It’s not in a gym or on a field, you are all over. It’s more adventurous, and it gets you out of your comfort zone way quicker than other sports.”

Biking with the team taught her a lot about perseverance, and about focusing on enjoying an activity with people who have a similar mindset instead of the result of a race. “I learned that it’s ok to just try your best,” she said. “Often times it might not go the way you hope, but if you persevere you’ll feel better at the end rather than just quitting.”

Even though she had only gone on a couple of mountain bike rides with her family before joining the Miners, Marsh rode all four years of high school with the team. Her advice for girls who might be interested in riding with the Miners: “Don’t be intimidated. Noone cares if you don’t know how to do things. It’s a learning process.” Also, “The boys on the team aren’t that scary. They’re more scared of you than you are of them.”

When Marsh isn’t on a bike, she still gets outside as much as she can, hiking and backpacking. She also paints with oil paints and plays the cello. She will study landscape architecture when she heads to Brigham Young University in the fall.