I LOVE RUNNING: I love the freedom that running gives me. I can run anywhere, anytime. I also love the connections I’ve made with other runners who encourage me to keep moving and never give up.
FAVE FITNESS ACCOMPLISHMENT: Participating in the Memphis Runners Road Race Series for nine years and the great running friends I’ve made along the way.
RECENT RACES: Bad Dog 10K (1st in age group), 2022 Memphis Runners Track Club Winter Off-Road Series and Road Race Series, and the 2021 St. Jude Full Marathon.
FAVORITE JAMS: I only listen to music indoors at the gym, and it’s usually long instrumentals from 1970s progressive rock bands like Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc.
GO-TO GEAR: I wear my Bad Dog Race Ambassador shirts for most events and my Garmin Forerunner 645. I race in Saucony running shoes but often train in Hokas for comfort.
MY GROUP: I run weekly with the Breakaway Running Marathon Training Group and with two different local running groups, where I’ve made long-lasting friendships.
BEST EATS: Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
DREAM DINNER COMPANY: I would enjoy having dinner with Nikola Tesla. I think Tesla would have a lot to say about modern technology and would offer some innovations of his own.
BUCKET LIST: I’d like to run a marathon in under four hours, run a marathon in a major city, and participate in a sprint triathlon and a kayak race using a tandem kayak.
SPEED BUMPS: I had surgery to repair a broken collarbone and couldn’t run for two months. Afterward, in addition to resuming my regular running activities, I joined the YMCA, where I work out and swim regularly.
MOST MEMORABLE FITNESS EVENT: Completing the Walking Tall Big Hill Pond 50K in 2018. I ran two full marathons before that, but never an ultra-marathons. So it was an emotionally uplifting experience to complete it with my running friends and then climb the 81 steps of the fire tower that overlook the hills of Tennessee!
BINGE-WATCHING: As an avid skateboarder, my go-to is YouTube videos of other skateboarders and skating events to improve my skating skills!
UP NEXT: St. Jude Full Marathon
ON MY NIGHTSTAND: “How God Makes Men” by Patrick Morley
QUOTE: “Something inside of me just said, ‘Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,’ and I just took off.” – Steve Prefontaine
Photo by Daniel Scruggs
