We have all had struggles and I want to see everyone succeed.

So January of 2021 I tested positive for Covid and would start my journey as a Covid Long Hauler and this would halt my running and all of my fitness. I spent all of 2021 in and out of the hospital and got up to 284lbs. On September 29th, 2021, I had Gastric Sleeve Surgery and have lost over 120 lbs and have kept it off. Since then, I have returned to running and racing this year. So I am releasing everything, including speed I have never had in the previous 12 years of being an endurance athlete.

That being said, as I am rediscovering my new body and new speed, I am not sure what my favorite distance is. As I am rejoining racing, every distance is my favorite distance, because I am moving again, and getting to be active again!

My Running/Walking advice that I have always had since day 1 has always been simple, and I still use it 12 years later: Run The Mile You’re In. Meaning, let go of the last mile you ran, don’t stress about it, or worry about it; and don’t try and calculate how fast you need to run the rest of what you need to do next. All of that will have you not enjoying the NOW that you are in…missing the whole point of why we are out there.

Running River City Races is like all of the best parts of a high school reunion 😜. I’m not only surrounded by the running community, but it is always people that I know and haven’t seen in a while, so the post race good feeling is compounded by friendship love and showering each other with unselfish pride and love.

Running, like anything else is hard. Stick with it. One step at a time and lean on the community’s around you. We have all had struggles and I want to see everyone succeed.