Tell us a little about yourself (kids, married, job)? I live in Northern Wyoming, and am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I am married, and have one kid, two cats and a dog. My dog is my running partner. He is much faster than I am though. My husband is on call 24/7, so I have to be flexible about getting my runs in, if he is gone I can’t always run outside because of my daughter.
When and why did you start running? I ran track in middle school and I loved hurdles. I did not keep it up in high school. Before I had my daughter, I would try to run but had a hard time getting past 5 miles. Eventually I got to run a half marathon when she was around 2. She is my motivation to keep pushing. I have run on and off since middle school, but got more consistent around 6 years ago.
What keeps you motivated to train? my daughter and my desire to see what I am capable of.
What are your hobbies outside of running? I like to read, embroider, and be outside. I like to snowshoe and hike. We live at the base of the mountains.
What is your favorite race? not sure I have one. I have run our local Bighorn Mountain Trail run once and I loved it. I also loved the Wolf Creek Wrangle and it was really pretty.
What is your bucket list event? Don’t have one!
What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race? My friend and I ran the Wolf Creek Wrangle 10k. She isn’t from the West, or from a rural area. We came around a bend and were getting closer to the end (it is on a dude ranch) and several horses were on the trail. I have been around horses all my life but I am not always very comfortable around them without someone else around. well we slowed down but kept going, thinking they would move off the trail but instead they ran with us for awhile. we were both thrilled and a little freaked out to be running amongst several horses.
What is your proudest race moment? my mom and daughter were with me at the end of the half marathon. I had leg cramps and basically crawled to the end but she was with me. my mom handed my daughter over the fence so I got my medal holding her.
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running? how a mile run is not to be avoided and how cross country probably would have been more fun for me than track.
What is your best piece of advice for new runners? slow is fine, its still the same distance