I went on to become a certified running coach, which I’ve done now for over 15 years. Go figure. 

As you can see, running stuck with me and, in one way or another, has always been a part of my life. But along that journey, I learned to define and continuously re-define what running success means for me.

What’s even better—that success doesn’t have to be defined by performance or pace. You get to design your running journey and I'm excited to help you do that!

I was tired of trying to fit inside society’s box of what success in running looked like, and I began to decide that for myself.

The discussion of weight and “discipline” was a constant stressor in my family and in my life. These discussions always came from a place of judgment, and this stuck with me into adulthood.

I started running when I was 8 years old, naturally a sprinter, and always struggling with distance. I was taught to “suck it up.” That’s what “real” runners did. Years of this approach led me to hate running; I eventually quit. 

Years later, I made my way back to running, primarily as a way to lose weight. I decided that I needed to find a way to run that worked for me, regardless of what anyone else thought.

Since I was very young, there was always a focus on weight and “thin-ness,” but not in a positive way. I always felt insecure and never good enough. 

I was raised in a family with a father who was a hard-core marathoner, with a “push through the pain” mentality, and relatives who were in the fitness industry—as well as having family members who were seriously unhealthy and overweight. It set the stage for my dichotomous relationship with running, weight loss, and health. 

Finding my way back...