Ellen Hunter Gans is an Ironman triathlete, ultramarathon champion, and 40-time marathon finisher-including seven marathons on seven continents in one week (on the Great World Race). She ran four of those seven with a venomous spider bite that she mistook for a torn ligament. The Twin Cities-based freelance writer has spent more than 15 years helping major brands tell their stories. She holds advanced degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California. Ellen lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic connective tissue disorder that is wholly incompatible with running. She believes limits are mostly just suggestions that talk too loudly.