Welcome

I ran my first Olympic Marathon Trials twelve weeks pregnant. Four years later, I nursed my four-month-old daughter on the drive to my second Trials starting line — my husband managing a toddler, baby, and a bottle while I raced.

I mention this not to be remarkable, but because it explains something about how I approach most things: I tend to keep going.

Running has always been in my blood. My father, Anthony Sandoval, won the 1980 Olympic Marathon gold medal, set the American record, and practiced cardiac surgery for decades after. I ran collegiately at the University of Oregon, represented Brooks Running professionally, and have coached athletes for over fifteen years — men and women, through postpartum returns, injury comebacks, and Boston Qualifying campaigns.

The science runs just as deep. I grew up in northern New Mexico, fascinated by the high desert landscape at the southern end of the Rockies. That fascination became a career: I completed my PhD in geology at the University of New Mexico, studying how the Rocky Mountains grew and how the rivers formed around them. After finishing, I co-founded Think Ubiquitous, a data analytics company working at the intersection of hydrology, ecology, and resource management.

Writing came next; or rather, it was always there and eventually found its form. I've published five books on geology and the American landscape, with two more coming. My newest, Hiking High Points of America (Falcon Guides / Simon & Schuster), publishes November 2026. My Mountain Press titles — Roadside Geology of New Mexico and Colorado Rocks — are field guides for the curious traveler who wants to understand the ground beneath their feet.

Those two threads: performance and data, are what led me to found Solura in 2024, a coaching and analytics platform for high-achieving women navigating perimenopause. The women I work with are experienced athletes, used to understanding their bodies and working hard for results. When perimenopause disrupts that relationship, they deserve more than symptom management. They deserve performance coaching with data behind it.

I live in Albuquerque with my husband John and our three children. You can still find me out on a run or hike most mornings!

Press and media Inquiries: info@magdalenadonahue.com
Download media kit: [PDF link]
Coaching: gosolura.com
Books: See the full list here