- Age 26
- Residence Charlotte, North Carolina
- Occupation Change Manager at Bank of America
- Years Running 12
- Hobbies Reading, Baking Vegan Cupcakes, Travelling, Scrapbooking, Cats
I grew up in Carbondale, Illinois and enjoyed my childhood days most when I was outside playing in the woods, biking to my friend's house, or snuggling with our kittens. My mom tried to sign me up for team sports like soccer and softball, but apparently I was shy. This would prompt me to kick and scream because I was scared to be on a team with what appeared to be a bunch of strange kids I had never met. My parents started running marathons like Boston, Memphis and Chicago and ran with me on a couple of mile fun runs at local races. Now that I've matured, I account my love for running to my parents' own love for running. Without even pushing me to running, my parents' running experiences served as the catalyst to starting my own running experience. Eventually, I found my niche with my middle school track team and loved it from the very first day.
After a memorable high school experience filled with several appearances at the State Track and Cross Country meets, I eventually made my way to Wake Forest in the fall of 2004. My Wake Forest team because my second family and we bonded through sweat, tears, victories, and defeats. I surprised myself by making it as one of the top 5 runners at Wake and running at the NCAA Cross Country Meet in 2004. We would again qualify as a team in 2006. I never was an All-American at Wake, but I pulled it together for the team when it mattered most and even enjoyed a spot as the Co-Captain for my last two years. I enjoyed trips to Stanford, Oregon, the NYC Armory, Penn Relays and to many other locations. I will cherish those trips to away meets forever because they were so much fun and also allowed me to see parts of the country that I otherwise never may have been to.
In October of my senior year, I met my boyfriend Garrett Bullock, a sweet and somewhat country boy who happened to be the starting pitcher for the Wake Forest Baseball team. We've been dating since 2007, and have been long distance since 2008 after he signed to play Minor League Baseball for the Houston Astros.
I currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina with my cat Cicero and my best guy friend (John Compton) from Wake Forest. I work full time at Bank of America as a Change Manager and take pride in the fact that my team knows how to make a corporate work environment feel fun and lively. At the same time, I successfully manage to fit my marathon training into my work and social schedule. Like college, training is all about the art of balancing your time and commitments. In order to leave enough time for my other passions such as friends, family, reading, and baking, I get up every day before 6AM to get a run or workout in. With the hard work, dedication, and hours of training that I have put in, I have sealed a spot to the US Olympic Trials in 2012. Certainly a dream come true, I plan to soak up every single minute of that experience. This blog will track my progress to that day!
