I actually stumbled into running. After playing basketball in 8th grade, my basketball coach noticed that I wasn't getting tired when the team had to run laps around the basketball court. He suggested I try running once in high school. I went out for the cross country team my freshman year in high school and fell in love with running. I started having some success competing and haven't looked back since then.

My first Boston was during the 100th running in 1996. I thought it was the perfect time to try Boston. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare the correct way and had to drop out after 17 miles. After learning how to train, I returned the following year and completed the race. Since then, I have started approximately 15 Boston Marathons (lost count) with two DNFs (1996 and 2018 - The Unicorn Storm).

Running is an important part of my life. Although I enjoy the competitive aspect the most, I enjoy doing it. It's my outlet, my passion...and it allows me to stay grounded. My days feel incomplete when I am unable to run. I also enjoy the relationships I have formed through running and the camaraderie with fellow runner it fosters.

The best advice I can give is learning how to listen to your body. The body will give you warning signs when it's being stressed. Listening to these signs will allow you to stay healthy. As runners, we tend to focus on the goals (training for a race), we often forget to enjoy the journey. To me, running has to be fun. If we aren't getting paid to run, we must enjoy it!