I grew up in Kalamazoo and went to College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. I am currently a 4th year med student at U of M and will be starting my residency in psychiatry next year (hopefully at U of M). I was out of undergrad for a number of years before going to med school and had various jobs, including a horrible office job, teaching English in Austria, and working for the California office of a German software company. I live in Ann Arbor with my cat Sweet Pea. I am very lucky to be Auntie to eight wonderful nieces and nephews, three of whom live in Ann Arbor.

1. When and why did you start running?
   I’ve pretty much always been a runner. I can remember even as a really little kid, I loved racing around the house. The rooms were set up such that you could run in a circle through the house. I had a push toy that made noise when it moved and I liked to see how fast I could make the noises go, until my mother got annoyed and told me to go outside. I’ve always loved running and it was my saving grace in gym class because I wasn’t particularly competent at any other sports.

2. What did you consider to be your best moments/accomplishments?
   The running-related thing I’m most proud of is running track in college. My first season was basically a disaster and I seriously thought about quitting. But I stuck it out and things got a lot better.

3. What was your best race performance?
   My best race performance in more recent times was the Detroit half marathon two years ago. It was my first half marathon and my time was better than I thought it would be. I was especially pleased because I’m really more of a sprinter, not a distance runner, who used to think a 5K was way too long. So running a half marathon is something I feel pretty good about.

4. Your “nightmare” race?
   My worst race ever was once in cross country in high school. I had been injured and probably should have taken a bit more time off. So I wasn’t in very good shape and I went out too fast. I have never felt that awful in any race since and I hope I never do.

5. How do you spend your time other than running?
   School keeps me busy, although this year the schedule is much more reasonable than last year. I also like reading, both books and newspapers, and spending time with my nieces and nephews.

6. What does your training consist of?
   I’m not training for anything in particular at the moment besides the occasional small 5K. Besides the track club, I run with the “Damsels in da Streets” women’s running group at Running Fit on Thursdays. I also run a couple of times weekly by myself or with classmates. Lately I’ve been lifting weights because my triceps were getting way too flappy.

7. What things contribute to your success as a runner?
   The thing that has kept me running all this time is the great mental health benefit. Running improves my mood and mellows me out a lot. Were it not for running, I probably would have spontaneously combusted years ago.

8. What are the biggest challenges or obstacles for you?
   Sometimes making time for running is a challenge.

9. What are your favorite races in Michigan/outside Michigan?
   I like the Dexter-Ann Arbor run. The medical school sponsors any student who wants to run it and we have two teams competing against each other (just for fun, of course).When I lived in Austria I took part in a community fun run-type of event. All participants got a medal, which had the name of the race on it in German. When non-German speakers ask me what it means, I tell them it means “First Place”. (I do eventually admit that it’s not true.) That was the only race I’ve ever done outside the US and it was a lot of fun.

10. What is the worst running injury/setback you’ve ever had?
    I’ve had a number of injuries over the years, thankfully none recently. The worst was probably when I had a lot of trouble with my IT band for a while in college. It seemed to take forever to get better.

11. What is the last book you read? What is your favorite music?
    I recently read My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Taylor. It’s an interesting book, I definitely recommend it. I like a lot of different sorts of music, but especially enjoy listening to Sonic Bliss on Sunday nights on 107.1.

12. What runner has inspired you most?
    My high school track coach, although technically he was a shot putter, not a runner. He was a great mentor and an important part of my life when I was in high school.