In 2010, at the age of 38 and with a five-year-old daughter, Leigh Donovan, owner of Tangerine boutique in Temecula, California, and nine years after retiring from professional racing, decided to pursue a spot on the U.S. National Downhill team.

Donovan married her longtime boyfriend and race mechanic Craig "Stikman" Glaspell in 2000 and they had one daughter.

In 2014 Leigh launched a coaching and clinic business called iChooseBikes that put the focus on teaching MTB skills to riders of all ages, levels, and genders; Leigh believes that if the person can master the foundational skills, that they can stay on the bike longer and shred harder too.

Leigh Donovan spent 2022-2023 employed by SRAM as the Southern California senior field guide (sales and marketing rep), but left the position in the Summer of 2023.

Leigh remains the only cyclist male or female to be in the 3 cycling halls of fame (USABMX, MTB, US Bicycling).