Austin, Texas

I hail from the small east Texas town of Canton and the cattle ranch my family built with their very own blood, sweat, and tears. I currently reside in Austin, Texas where my love of running has grown exponentially. My favorite place to run is on the 7-mile Greenbelt Trail that runs through Austin for its beautiful showcase of trail running right through the city. I also frequent the Ann & Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, a 10-mile loop along the Colorado River, right in the middle of the city. How lucky are we, as runners in Austin?!

Post-run, you can find me enjoying fantastic local craft beer from my favorite Austin brewery Hops & Grain. I run to get to know myself better. I run trails for the freedom that envelops my soul as I flow over their technicality, wrap around the switchbacks, and brush their past trees.

As a late-bloomer adult athlete, I struggled to find confidence in my running – not having a high-school or college running background. Distance felt intimidating to me. Half-marathon, marathon, and beyond distances? You’re kidding… that’s for people who ran cross-country in high school, surely not for a new adult runner like me. But then I found other adult runners who also were attempting those distances for the first time – and we decided to break those scary large numbers into easily-digestible pieces. 4 miles, 8 miles, 12 miles. Before I knew it – I was becoming a runner. I was finding the athlete that had hid inside my bones all along. These new friends didn’t mind that my pace wasn’t evident of an seasoned school-age runner. It was effort itself they cared for. And my effort was enough.

By finding a community of runners that comprised of all ages and abilities, I found so many relatable runner friends. Following behind in their footsteps for each raining run, I was soon right alongside them. And beside them, I completed my first half-marathon. Four year later, I look towards my first 50-mile race with confidence of the athlete in my bones, no matter how long I’ve known her.