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Where are you from? What brought you to Missoula?
I’m from Monroe, NY, a town a little bit north of New York City. I came to Montana for the first time in June of 2018; it was love at first sight. I came to Missoula that same year to participate in the Half Marathon. That’s where I was introduced to the Missoula running community and RWM. I returned to Montana in June of 2019 and decided to stay. Now, I work for Run Wild Missoula as the Program Coordinator. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else!
When did you start running and why?
I started running in 8th grade because I wasn’t good enough at any other sports. My friend recommended that I run XC with her. The summer going into 8th grade, I suffered a foot injury. I actually almost got cut from the XC team because I didn’t show up to enough practices (or any practices) for all of September. No one gets cut from the middle school XC team, except for almost me! At this point, I’ve been running for more than 10 years!
You’re training for CIM – what made you gravitate towards the marathon distance?
I ran my first marathon 6 months after graduating college- the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon. It was something that I always wanted to do; I thought it’d be a one and done bucket list item, but I had so much fun that I decided to sign up for another one just six months later! I’ve been hooked on road racing ever since completing my first marathon. CIM will be my fourth marathon!
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you while running?
During my Senior year of high school, I got left behind at the Armory in NYC. My friend and I were waiting on a long line to buy smoothies after our race. We saw some of our teammates walking down the stairs and they were headed out the doors, so we asked if the buses were leaving yet, they said no. We decided to keep waiting for our smoothies. When we got outside we couldn’t find our school buses. I called one of my other friends and asked where they were, they said that they left and were already on their way over the George Washington Bridge. The bus had to turn around and get us! My coach called my parents that night apologizing like crazy because he felt so bad. For the rest of the year, he took attendance on the bus after meets…
If you could pick one place anywhere in the world to run, where would it be and why?
I would go back to NY (just for a few days) and run on some of favorite running routes that I miss! I’d run through Minnewaska State Park, Bear Mountain State Park, Walkway over the Hudson, and Hyde Park (home of FDR)! I love to run on quiet country roads with rolling hills.
What is the best running advice you have received?
A PR is a PR, whether it’s by 5 seconds or 5 minutes.
Finish this sentence: When I’m not running, I’m”¦
thinking about running.