A Tribute To Outside Moms Here And Everywhere

This story was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

At last Sunday’s annual Schmidt family Mother’s Day hike on the Boardman River, I watched my wife, Johanna, walk alongside my son, Jameson, and our exchange daughter Oliva from Argentina (my older son, Carter, is still in Thailand on exchange with Rotary) with a smile.

Johanna is happiest when she’s outside because Johanna is an outside mom.

Note: Key lime pie, 80s music, her dog, Smidge, and a good cup of coffee are also things that make Johanna happy.

As my kids near adulthood, the power of outside moms hit me hard this Mother’s Day. It made me reflect on all the other active, healthy moms here in Traverse City who opt outside with their kids — moms like my friend, Anne.

Anne is kind, smart, funny, and an incredible athlete.

She is a hard-working professional momma who cares hard.

Anne is also a Traverse City native and proud Trojan (go, class of ‘98!) with four beautiful children: Alex, August, Asher, and the adorable 2-year-old Scarlett. They are her pride and joy.

Anne hasn’t always been the active person she is today. She admits to being unhealthy in her teens. “I felt like crap and was depressed,” she told me. “So, one day, I decided to go for a run. I ran a mile, and I thought I was going to die.”

“You know what? I need to change,” she told herself.

And change is exactly what Anne did.

From that humbling one-mile run, Anne progressed to a 5K race to a 10K, eventually conquering the Bayshore half-marathon.

But running isn’t the only thing to capture Anne’s adventurous spirit.

In 2015, she had an epiphany while mountain biking for the first time with Alex at Vasa Domingos. “Why have I never tried this? I’m going to do the Iceman. Who said I can’t?”

Armed with a rental from Brick Wheels (thank you, Levi Kyser!) and a couple of short training rides, Anne raced her first Iceman that year. The experience was brutal; a 3-plus hour sufferfest that pushed Anne to her limits. But despite the pain and exhaustion, Anne was hooked. “I was all pumped up after that. I got a new bike and started riding more.”

And then, you know what? Luke, her husband, started riding too. So did Asher and August. And now Scarlette is a balance bike whiz. And just like that, the Schwartz family became an impressive six-member cycling team that crushes local trails and races together.

Anne firmly believes getting her kids outside is the key to their wellbeing. Being active outdoors, she attests, has a transformative effect on their behavior, attitude, and mental health.

One of my favorite memories of Anne was watching her run to Eastern Elementary School from her Central neighborhood home, pushing one kid in a stroller while another biked beside her.

She did that with Alex and August, and now she’s doing it a couple of days a week with Asher and Scarlett.

The six-mile roundtrip run was a way for Anne to get a workout in during her busy schedule and help her kids get the wiggles out before class.

Anne understands the importance of her family being active together.

Anne is grateful for other outside Traverse City mommas who have influenced her, particularly Erica O’Hearn, Chelsey Scott, and Laurie Brockmiller.

They ride together, share adventures, and motivate one another. It was Erica who convinced Anne to take on the Traverse City Ironman.

“We’ll have to learn how to swim, but OK!” she said with a smile.

During that Ironman race, Anne’s family gathered to cheer her on. Witnessing their mom try new, challenging things while embracing the struggle and emerging stronger was special.

So here’s to happy, healthy mothers like Anne who lead by example and inspire their children to be active outside.

Thank you, outside moms.