- A nordic photo might have been more appropriate, but how could I pass up this pic of Zoe Roy passing through an epic cycling pileup?

Zoe Roy comes from a family that could be the poster for “Central Oregon Athletes.” Her father Rob coaches some of the best snowboarders in the world, her mother Muffy is a past Pole, Peddle, Paddle champion and her younger brother Tosch Roy is an accomplish runner, nordic ski racer and juggler. Zoe has already packed some major racing, adventures and just plain old fun times into her young life. She was kind enough to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

Central Oregon Athlete – What have you been up to as far as racing goes since high school?
Zoe Roy – I have been mostly ski racing since high school and jumping in the old PPP, running or biking race in the off season. After I graduated from Summit High School in 2005 I lived in Ramsau, Austria for 6 months with my family. I spent the winter skiing with a local ski club, racing, traveling, learning German, eating good chocolate and hanging out. The next year I moved back to Austria by myself, skied and raced with the same ski club and took classes at the University of Salzburg. Since then I have been going to school and ski racing at the University of Utah in Salt Lake. I’ve also raced a couple of races for the cross country running team at Utah when it has fit in with skiing.

COA – What are your racing goals this winter?
ZR – I am shooting for a top 10 result at NCAAs this year in March. But to achieve that I have to qualify first, which is hard on a deep team like Utah’s. And then I just have to race fast! After that I am hoping to go to Canadian Nationals in Whitehorse.

COA – How does Utah compare to Central Oregon?
ZR – Utah, like Oregon, is a pretty awesome state because there is so much variety. I live in Salt Lake near the mountains and can be in the desert in a couple of hours. There are a lot of fun things to do in and around Salt Lake, and its a great place to go to school, but I’m still partial to Bend. The climates are pretty similar, hot and dry in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter. Utah is hotter in the summer, I’d rather spend summers in Bend. I like how central Utah is to Moab, Tahoe and places in Montana, Colorado and Idaho. And even though I really like Mt. Bachelor, I have to admit that the snow in Utah might be a touch lighter and fluffier than Bachelors….

COA -What’s it like having such an active snow sport oriented family?
ZR – Its really fun having a family that is active and likes to do stuff outside. It gives us a lot of opportunities to do things together. Anything from skiing to snowboarding, to running, to biking, to climbing, to kayaking, to unicycling, to competing with each other in the PPP!

COA – What is your favorite Central Oregon workout?
ZR – I have a few favorite Central Oregon workouts. I love running the Green Lakes loop in the summer. Another favorite is crust cruising up into Broken Top in the spring. And riding McKenzie Pass in the spring before it is opened to cars is awesome too.