Feature articles:
The Laurel Highlands Ultra is a 70.5-mile race along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail from Ohiopyle to Johnstown in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania. Roughly 125 runners attempt it each summer, and of those approximately 80 will finish, the fastest in just over 13 hours, the slowest making it in by the 22-hour cutoff. To cover this story, I traveled from checkpoint to checkpoint throughout the course of the day observing and talking to volunteers, organizers, family and friends of the runners as well as the runners themselves.
Laurel Highlands Ultra proves unlike any other competition
One of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had covering a story was the day I spent with the men and women of Operation Enduring Warrior on the course of a Reebok Super Spartan obstacle course race in Virginia. The group consists of both active and retired service members, some wounded, some not, who ran the course wearing fatigues, boots and gas masks to raise awareness for and empower our country’s wounded warriors. Some were missing limbs. One man had even lost both legs and an arm. I followed them along the course to watch as they came together as one to help everyone complete every obstacle, no matter what. Witnessing their determination, will and commitment to one another is something that stays with me to this day. I also took the photos that ran with this story.
Wounded vets overcome more than mere obstacles on grueling course
As the nation and the running community in particular reeled after the Boston Marathon bombings, an inspirational story emerged in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Marathon was set to take place two weeks after Boston, and amid the safety concerns that dominated the headlines came the tale of 37 charity runners who’d been stopped in the final mile and a half when the bombs exploded. Sponsor Dick’s Sporting Goods invited the runners and paid all their expenses to come to Pittsburgh and finish what they started.
They started in Boston but will finish here
A fun piece to write, and one that grabbed national attention, was this look at retired Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward as he trained for the Ironman triathlon.
Former Steeler Ward swallowing his pride at Ironman race
This is a first-person story in which I chronicled my bike trip from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., on the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath.
Biking the Great Allegheny Passage
Finally, here’s an example of my profile writing. I wrote this one on Pirates manager Clint Hurdle to coincide with the end of the longest losing streak in professional sports.
Under Hurdle, Pirates on cusp of winning season
Magazines and special publications:
One of the publications I worked on this summer was Discover Westmoreland, a publication of Trib Total Media advertising that promotes the county both to tourists and residents. Two of the articles I wrote were, “Spend a Day in Westmoreland,” in which I came up with activities for morning, afternoon and evening for outdoors lovers, families, history buffs and arts enthusiasts. Another focused on all the weird, wild and haunted tales and legends from across the county. Both are featured below:
Discover Westmoreland: 1 Day, Five Ways
Discover Westmoreland Haunted History Page 1
Discover Westmoreland Haunted History Page 2
Discover Westmoreland Haunted History Page 3
Discover Westmoreland Haunted History Page 4
Another bi-annual publication to which I’ve contributed stories for a number of issues is My Wedding Planner. For one story, I spoke to a number of photographers for their ideas on the best places for engagement photos around Western Pennsylvania. For the feature below, I spoke to professionals from all throughout the wedding and event planning industry to come up with the top 16 trends for 2016:
Sixteen trends for 2016 Page 1
Sixteen trends for 2016 Page 2
Some of the stories I’ve written on the subject of college preparation include one piece on what admissions counselors look for in extracurricular activities on an application as well as what bad habits high school students may need to break before college. For the piece below, I spoke to admissions counselors to learn what makes a college essay stand out.
Unraveling the college essay
KAREN PRICE FREELANCE