MY PASSIONS
Running
I first laced up a pair of hand-me-down running shoes more than ten years ago when my father encouraged me to join the high school cross country team as a freshman. Initially, it was just to stay in shape for my main sports: basketball and soccer. As I began to realize that I had the potential to be good at this new sport (and, who would have thought, it was actually fun!), I transitioned from a multi-sport athlete to a full-time runner. By my junior year of high school, I ran cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.
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I signed to run for Davidson College, a small Division I program in North Carolina. While there, I lowered my 5K personal best to 17:11 and my 10K to 36:18. During my senior year, my cross country teammates and I became Davidson's highest performing team in program history when we placed 9th at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship meet.
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These days, I can't say I'm running quite as far or fast, but you can still find me out on the roads putting in some miles. You might even see me on the trails--lately, I've been challenging myself to develop the agility to not trip and fall on every root and rock.
Nature
​Luckily, my love for running has intertwined beautifully with my deep-rooted desire to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I can only run so much, though, so I also enjoy getting outside to hike in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, bike, and kayak. I'll also never turn down an afternoon just sprawling in the grass soaking up the fresh air with a good book and a seltzer.
Travel
If you've taken a look at my CV, you'll have already seen that I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to explore some of the world outside of the United States.
I am continually grateful that a program exists that caters to high school athletes who want to train over the summer while still traveling the world and giving back to the community (when I discovered it I thought it couldn't possibly be real!). Through STRIVE Trips, I have twice been to the mountainous region of Peru and once to the running mecca of Kenya.
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Although I didn't study abroad while I was in college, I spent the year after graduation teaching English in very, very rural southern Spain. I lived in the small city of Jaén (the olive oil capital of the world!) and commuted about 45 minutes to San Marcos Primary School. My little school was surrounded by olive groves and had just 25 students, three teachers, and then, of course, me. When not teaching I was able to travel around much of southern Spain, and I even ventured out a bit further to Marrakesh in Morocco, Porto in Portugal, and Catalan-speaking Barcelona. Spending the Christmas holidays in Italy with my family was a true highlight of that year.
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Etc.
What else? Well, of course: friends, food, and family (in no particular order...but all at once is always a good call). I hold such value in spending quality time with those I love.
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Finally, it seems I have become somewhat of an amateur website builder (strictly drag-and-drop templates...but perhaps one day I'll advance). Check out the other websites that I've created, all for the Friends of the Chessie Trail (Lexington, Virginia):
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www.friendsofthechessietrail.org