Besides running, what other hobbies, interests, or passions do you have?
Besides running, some other hobbies and interests I enjoy include reading (anything from rom-com books to text-books and research articles- I love learning), cooking/baking, drinking coffee, anything on a lake (fishing, boating, kayaking, or paddle boarding), and spending time with my family (my husband and 2-year-old daughter).
What is a bucket list race for you?
Some bucket list races for me include running more marathons (including the Boston Marathon one day) and maybe tossing in an ultra or two, if I’m crazy enough.
How has your relationship with running evolved over the years?
My relationship with running has evolved tremendously throughout the years, starting in middle school as a little “sprinter” to now embracing the longer distances and training for my first full marathon. As I’ve aged, my running has creeped into longer distances, and I’m embracing the journey. If someone would have told me ten years ago that I would be running a full marathon in a couple of days, I would have laughed in their face. Throughout high school, I ran mainly the 400m and below. It wasn’t until my junior/senior year of track that I started to dabble in the 800m and dip my toe into cross country. I started out absolutely loathing cross country; after my first 5k, I looked at my coach and said, “I never want to run that again in my life!” He laughed at me.
After graduation, I decided to continue my running career at the collegiate level and ran cross-country/track-and-field competitively at Division 1 for five years at East Tennessee State University. Throughout those five years I ran everything from the 800m-5,000m on the track and 5k/6k for cross country. I broke numerous school records, qualified for regionals and nationals in cross country, and medaled numerous times in track during championship races. After running competitively for so long, I got to a point where I was over it, and I took about a 2-year break to just run sporadically (if at all). Within the last year I started to get back to a point of running regularly and really falling back in love with the sport. I am currently training for my first marathon and look forward to what other opportunities running brings. 🙂
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