Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel is preparing for her first Western States.
Photographer Christian Brecheis spent time with Seidel outside Flagstaff, Arizona, documenting a rare moment in an athlete’s career: the space between mastery and uncertainty.
These images follow Seidel as she prepares to leave one world behind and enter another.
Read Bryce Carlson’s piece Molly Seidel, Western States, and the Honest Kind of Starting Over














Next stop, Western States 2026.



