“I love feeling strong enough to power through a really tough workout. The feeling of accomplishment after finishing is amazing!”

“My husband (boyfriend at the time) coaches some of them, so he made a toast to everyone who ran. He said something about each person's performance. When he got to me, he started with congratulating me on a new PR, then started talking about non-running related things about me. I thought that was strange, then he dropped down on one knee and proposed! PR and engagement = best day ever.”

“Much like the Red Sox in 2012, 2018 was a rebuilding year for me. Though I managed to bag a long-overdue PR in the marathon in NYC (on my birthday!), the season was mostly spent adjusting to a move across the country, home ownership, married life, and a new job.”

“It had downpoured at our campsite the night before and cleared up just in time for the morning run, leaving huge shin deep puddles to plod through while we climbed up. There was no greater feeling than flying through the long winding downhill through the forest after earning it with a five mile mud climb.”

“An ice cold beer and a burger, but mac and cheese does the trick too.”

“Throughout the race anytime the going got tough, I would look at my bib and the memory of my Aunt and her strength helped me push through. I met my goal and finished in 2:59:15 (with only 2 shoe stops 😜) and almost equal half splits. It was my best executed marathon to date.”

“Whenever we travel, I love to research running routes that allow me to experience a new city from a different perspective. Some of my most memorable runs have been through Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, over the Williamsburg Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and on a guided run tour of Amsterdam.”

“Best running experience: Running cross country for the very first time at age 30! I wasn’t able to run in high school or college and thought my team-running opportunities were long gone.”

“Once I run around and/or up Mt. Kilimanjaro that’ll be it.”

“My best running experiences have been on solo runs out in nature, such as Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, the high desert while at a college cross country camp in Mexico, and most recently spending multiple days on the Appalachian Trail running and hiking from sun up to sun down.”

“Run your own race.”