After a many-year hiatus, an update to the blog! I’ve mostly been sharing over on Instagram, but an update here too is long overdue. Here are some of my 2024 highlights!

By the numbers:

Miles Run: 1595

I ran 1595 miles, down 10% from 2023 and a far cry from the 3000+ miles a year I would run when I was a pro - but as a working mom in my late 30s, I’m not logging that kind of mileage anymore - and that’s ok! The year held less running than I wanted, but my training log was bursting full of joyful miles shared with friends.

Marathons Attended: 6

Supporting Sara Lopez at the Olympic Trials Marathon

I got to be at 6 different marathons this year, as an athlete, a coach, and a spectator. The year started off with the Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando. After competing at the past two Olympic Trials Marathons in 2016 and 2020, this year I put on my coach hat and was there to support two of our Running Joyfully athletes, Sean O’Connor and Sara Lopez. I had the BEST time in Orlando watching Olympic dreams come true, cheering for Sean and Sara, former training partners Emily Sisson, Katie Spratford, and Katie Kellner, and our family friend Fiona O’Keeffe who won the whole darn thing! Some people asked if I’d wished I had been competing - but I can truly say that I had zero FOMO about not racing. I’ve had my turn competing at the Trials, and now I’m in my coach era - it feels like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, and I’m having the best time doing it!

April brought a return to the Boston Marathon, again in coach mode supporting our biggest-ever Running Joyfully crew. I brought my little guy along with me and got to see him experience the magic of Boston Marathon weekend. He joined me in the stroller for our team shakeout and excitedly rang a cowbell as we cheered along Beacon Street. After the marathon, we visited all my favorite places in New England, where my husband and I lived for 7 years. We trekked down to Providence, RI and did stroller runs on some of my favorite old routes, we spent a few days on the Cape with family, and then we capped off our East Coast tour visiting dear friends in Connecticut. What a trip!

This summer I got to be a fan and spectator at the most competitive of marathons - the OLYMPICS!! When Fiona O’Keeffe qualified for the Olympics after winning the Marathon Trials, I knew that my dad and I had to go watch. My dad has been coaching high school XC and track for over 25 years - he was Fiona’s coach at Davis Senior High School and we’ve been cheering her on ever since. We knew we couldn’t miss this opportunity to root for her and the rest of Team USA - so off to Paris we went! Getting to be at the Olympics with my dad was the experience of a lifetime. We biked all around Paris spectating the men’s and women’s marathons, catching the runners at multiple spots on the course, including right in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing! We also went to the final night of Athletics (track & field) at the Stade de France - we were able to snag two last-minute tickets, and wow, it was a dream! It was far and away the coolest track meet I’ve ever been too - the crowds were electric, the races thrilling. In between all the running, we ate a lot of croissants and cheese, I ran along the Seine, and we made lasting father-daughter memories! The highlight of the summer, for sure!

Spectating the men’s Olympic Marathon with my dad in Paris

In the fall I added another marathon to the calendar - a very last-minute addition of the Chicago Marathon, as a participant! I had not originally planned to run a fall marathon - but sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. So when life gives you lemons… run a marathon? I trained for Chicago in a short but very sweet buildup - this was the lemonade I needed in a very lemon year. Chicago was marathon #8 for me and a victory lap of sorts - celebrating 20+ years of competitive running and 10 years since my debut marathon. It was all that I had hoped for and needed - a healing marathon, if there’s such a thing. Crossing that finish line with arms raised triumphantly was one of the best moments of 2024.

I closed out the year at the California International Marathon, my hometown (and favorite!) marathon and one I attend every year, either as an athlete or a coach. After racing there in 2023, I was happy to be back in code mode in 2024, zooming around the course to cheer on our Running Joyfully team. Our crew had a magical day, with 17 out of 20 personal bests, multiple sub-3:00 finishes, and tons of BQs. More importantly, our crew had FUN out there - so many smiles, so much joy on the course. It was a wonderful way to cap off a big year of marathons.

STroller STATS: 207 miles

This metric is surely wrong as I didn’t always note “stroller miles” in my training log, but we did a lot of running with the stroller this year, including two races! We ran a half marathon in March - our longest ever run in the stroller! - and finished in 1:35 (moving time was sub-1:30, but we had a bunch of snack stops in there…). We also raced a 10k in June and finished as the 2nd female, stroller and all! - but Mom didn’t quite have the kick to outsprint Dad at the finish. Next time!

I didn’t keep track of how many diggers and excavators we saw on the run, but there were many - and if you’re a toddler boy mom, you know that is a highlight! As my little guy approaches 3, our stroller miles are fewer than in years past, but I cherish this time on the run with him.

There’s countless other metrics I could have tracked this year - but in both running and life, it’s not all about the numbers. It’s about the in betweens - the moments that might not make into a “Best Of” or “By the Numbers” post or onto your Instagram, but which are really the memories from the year you want to hold onto. It’s the morning snuggles with your toddler, the post-marathon Shake Shack with your friends, the bald eagle you saw along the lake, the wild blackberries you stopped to eat mid-run, your dog’s pure joy at swimming at the beach. It’s catching a glimpse of Mt. Rainier through the clouds, it’s watching your kid become best friends with your best friends’ kids, it’s an impromptu run with a friend on the trail.

As I turn the page to 2025, I’m ready for both more miles and more marathons, but also a slower paced, more peaceful year. Let’s see what the new year holds!

Like many people, I welcomed the start of the new year with open arms. 2020 was tumultuous, painful, and lonely, and while 2021 will be far from easy, I am entering the new year feeling hopeful.

Here’s a rapid recap of my 2020, and a few updates for 2021:

I started off the year having my best marathon build-up to date - healthy training, strong long runs, fast workouts. I entered the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon in February feeling fit, confident, and ready for a top 10 performance and a personal best. Alas, neither of those goals came to fruition; in the first mile of the race, on an overly crowded course riddled with potholes, I got tripped and fell to the ground. I was trampled by the stampede of women running behind me (yes it was just as scary as it sounds), but I got back up again, running on adrenaline, and made my way back to the front back. Unfortunately, the injuries I suffered resulted in me having to drop out of the race just before halfway. It was a heartbreaking end to my Olympic Trials marathon, but I quickly pivoted to focus on April’s Boston Marathon.

Little did I know that “pivot” would become an oh-so-important word in 2020. The pandemic forced us to pivot again and again and again, as the world locked down, races were cancelled, training plans paused, goals on hold. There would be no in-person Boston Marathon in 2020, and the Track & Field Olympic Trials, in which I’d hoped to compete in the 10,000 meters, was moved to summer 2021.

So, I spent the rest of 2020 training for life, for me. I ran on the trails, did solo workouts, explored, and went on joyful adventure runs around Massachusetts. While others chose to compete in pop-up races that emerged in the late summer and fall, I decided against racing due to concerns about COVID and the ever-rising number of cases and deaths.

Aftermath of getting trampled during the Olympic Trials Marathon

My contract with the Boston Athletic Association and Adidas ended at the end of December. I’m grateful for my 2.5 years representing the BAA and for their support during injury; without it, I’m not sure I would have been able to make a return to elite running after a devastating injury. Wearing the BAA uniform, I PRed in the half marathon and won the Naples Half Marathon, ran my first World Marathon Majors in the pro field at NYC Marathon, finished top 10 at the Bolder Boulder international team challenge, and competed in my 4th Olympic Trials event. As we move into 2021, I’m running unattached and am excited for new opportunities. Just might have to make a Running Joyfully jersey to race in ;-) I look forward to competing in another marathon once I’m vaccinated.

Also in 2021, I’m excited to use my public health degree - I am working in health policy, supporting state Medicaid agencies, departments of health, state-based health insurance marketplaces, and hospital networks. My work is focused on improving access to care and addressing social determinants of health. I am also spending more time on the nonprofit I founded, Safe on the Road, advocating for safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists. Finally, I’m continuing to coach runners at Running Joyfully - coaching is one of my greatest passions and post-COVID, I cannot wait to see my athletes in person again and hug them!!

Looking forward to vaccination rollouts, safer and more equitable streets, joyful runs, and a return to racing in 2021!