I had attempted a variety of sports throughout childhood, but only managed to either injure myself or fall down repeatedly, so I decided to pursue the sport that required the least amount of coordination possible: distance running.

I began running after college in an attempt to do something productive with my time outside of work. After getting our feet wet with a few 10Ks, my sister and I decided to challenge ourselves to run a half marathon – and unknowingly picked the hilliest one around in Charlottesville, Virginia. After suffering through 13.1 miles of pain, I swore there was no way my body could make it through a full marathon. Yet several months later (after the agony of that half marathon had faded), I found myself eating my words as I joined the Richmond Marathon Training Team in 2007, completing my first marathon well enough to snag a Boston Qualifying time. After running Boston, I was hooked.

Ten marathons, dozens of half marathons, and several top-3 marathon finishes later (taking two breaks from competitive running to have my two beautiful daughters), it’s safe to say my love for running will be a lifetime affair. Over the past 15 years, I have devoted my efforts to studying running, fitness, nutrition and athlete coaching. I have helped many runners successfully complete their first half marathon and marathon, and have helped many more improve their personal best times.

I LOVE the grind of daily training — more than the actual races — and you can usually find me pounding the pavement in the dark early morning hours. When I’m not running, I’m weightlifting, heading to my local CrossFit gym, enjoying a post-run cup of coffee, or trying desperately to finish folding the 17,000 loads of laundry that my family seems to generate.