I started my running journey in 2018.
I'd had a lifelong dream of running the Boilermaker, but I hadn't run since high school gym. I saw the ads for WKTV's Go the Distance, and with not so much as a walking career, I signed up. After 12 weeks of the GTD program, I was hooked.
As much as that got me in the door, the veteran runners of the Hill Striders inspired me to keep coming back. People twice my age, with families, with different political opinions and faiths, who'd run their whole lives, and who were just starting. GTD helped me find a much larger family, who ran in the rain, snow, wind, sun, and sleet. I loved the routine, the accountability, the comradare, the support; most of all, I loved the way running with the Hill Striders calmed my mind.
I have an anxiety disorder with some pretty intense perfectionism. I struggle in social situations, especially those in which I have the potential to fail. My brain makes me feel like if I can't be the best, then I am worthless.
But when I started running with MVHS, it didn't matter that I wasn't the best. When I was slow, those lapping back cheered me on. When I came in dead last, a crowd was waiting to welcome me in. When I struggled, teammates offered advice on how to stretch or train. When I was injured and couldn't run, Hill Striders texted to check in and encourage me to come walk or socialize.
MVHS was a guaranteed opportunity to laugh and do something good for my body three days a week. Even if the run was bad, I accomplished something and belonged to a family. They calmed my anxious brain and made me feel seen, loved, and supported. My heavy frame may have plodded along at half my teammates' pace, but no one ever made me feel lesser. They were just happy to have me there.
I love my Hill Strider family. They have helped me transform socially, emotionally, mentally, and--of course--physically. I am so proud to be the president of the Mohawk Valley Hill Striders, to encourage new runners to chase goals, face fears, and be part of something incredible.

Many of you know, I am a runner! I started on my running journey in the late 1900s, (LOL) while in college. Initially, this was a walk/run combo for stress reduction. And hey, I felt better! I felt better mentally and physically when I regularly ran a few miles. Running clears my head. My first Boilermaker was 1994. My next Boilermaker was 5 years later! Being a working Mom, there are many demands on your time! When I signed up for the 2001 Boilermaker, I vowed I would run this every year and make running a priority for myself. I ran alone for years and got up the courage to join this running group. This was totally out of my comfort zone! But I felt welcomed and encouraged, so I kept coming back! I joined the Hill Striders in 2016, wanting to run the Syracuse Half. Running with the Hill Striders, I have discovered I love winter running and running longer distances. I’ve run all kinds of races and distances, I never would have thought I could. I run with this group, my running family, for the support it gives me. Support comes in friendship, encouragement, advice, laughter, safety and hydration! I am proud to be part of this running family, thank you!

My running story can be told in two parts. The first part takes place in school, as far back as elementary school. As a kid, I had a short and frail frame but I had speed that helped me hold my own in baseball, basketball, soccer, and of course running. At Clinton, in grades 4-6 you can participate in their after-school run club for 4 weeks in the fall where you would run a 0.75 mile course as an individual through the playground and sports fields. This is where it began. In 5th grade, I was one-second off the school’s all-time record for this event with a time of 4:17. That thrill gave me a deep enjoyment for running. I carried this passion for running into modified cross country at Clinton and then to Utica Notre Dame. I was called up to run sectionals at ND as a freshman and then ran the next two years as a top-5 runner on the team, setting a PR of 17:52 for a 5K. By the time I reached my senior year I was at a crossroads. The cross country team did not look capable of gathering enough runners to form a team, at least one that could compete, and the school’s football team won back-to-back sectional championships. I always loved football but never played because of a sports injury to my spine (spondylolisthesis). Combining my junior year slump in my times compared to my sophomore’s, and a burning desire to give football a chance, I gave up cross country to pursue football where I started just 3 games at cornerback before missing over half the season with my broken back. Thus, by 2016 I had given up running seemingly for good. I graduated high school and had tried to play baseball for 3 seasons in college at Utica College before bowing out unceremoniously after another back injury right before my senior season was supposed to get underway. By Spring 2021 my athletic career, which had been the epicenter of my life up to that point, had shuttered its doors.

Like everyone on Earth, especially my generation who was just beginning its transition to adulthood, Covid was not good to me physically. I had already started to gain weight in college, but the body that could barely muster 170 lbs on the scale crossed the 200 lb threshold in 2020. It continued until 2021 when I got as heavy as 240 lbs in what felt like the blink of an eye. By 2022 I was ready to make a change as I noticed even simple games of backyard hoops grew tiresome quickly. I decided running was the best activity to do this. My cousin had told me he runs some of the local races and so I decided to get in shape to run these to have something to strive for. My first race was that April. The 7.5K Save Our Switchbacks race took me 52 minutes to finish, 11 minutes/mile. The body that used to run a sub-6 mile felt embarrassed and wanted to give up, but I decided I simply could not do that and that I would see results if I kept going. I went to the Sneaker Store (where I soon became a regular) to buy dedicated running sneakers and by the Falling Leaves 14K in September, I improved to a 9:35/mile pace and a 1:23:10 overall time. At this point, I had a routine that included getting my first gym membership and running multiple days per week mostly by myself. In 2023, I had gotten my best friend to join me in signing up for her first ever race, the St Patrick’s Day Mad Mile. Before we even ran that race we decided to also commit to signing up for our first Boilermaker 15K. I ran with her during her Go The Distance training which is where we met the Hill Striders. Since then we have done a lot of training in lockstep and she keeps me honest and doesn’t let me quit, even when I really want to. Together we have run about 30 races, including 3 Boilermakers, 4 half marathons, and 2 grueling full marathons (which might be my last marathon but she is a triathlete with aspirations of being an Iron Man - I am so proud).

I am a huge fan of the community environment that the Hill Striders cultivate. A lot of them were there to cheer me on as I finished the 2024 Falling Leaves 14K with a time of 1:08:47, a near two-minute/mile improvement from my first time at this race. I run with them on Mondays and Saturdays and we always have a blast. There are a bunch of sincerely great people who are a part of this group and I am truly glad I am a part of it too. We help each other get healthier, faster and happier. We always leave each other grinning ear-to-ear and it always makes us forget that we just finished a daunting run that put our bodies to the test and made us question our sanity. If you want running to be fun, I can not recommend the group enough.

My running story can be told in two parts. The first part takes place in school, as far back as elementary school. As a kid, I had a short and frail frame but I had speed that helped me hold my own in baseball, basketball, soccer, and of course running. At Clinton, in grades 4-6 you can participate in their after-school run club for 4 weeks in the fall where you would run a 0.75 mile course as an individual through the playground and sports fields. This is where it began. In 5th grade, I was one-second off the school’s all-time record for this event with a time of 4:17. That thrill gave me a deep enjoyment for running. I carried this passion for running into modified cross country at Clinton and then to Utica Notre Dame. I was called up to run sectionals at ND as a freshman and then ran the next two years as a top-5 runner on the team, setting a PR of 17:52 for a 5K. By the time I reached my senior year I was at a crossroads. The cross country team did not look capable of gathering enough runners to form a team, at least one that could compete, and the school’s football team won back-to-back sectional championships. I always loved football but never played because of a sports injury to my spine (spondylolisthesis). Combining my junior year slump in my times compared to my sophomore’s, and a burning desire to give football a chance, I gave up cross country to pursue football where I started just 3 games at cornerback before missing over half the season with my broken back. Thus, by 2016 I had given up running seemingly for good. I graduated high school and had tried to play baseball for 3 seasons in college at Utica College before bowing out unceremoniously after another back injury right before my senior season was supposed to get underway. By Spring 2021 my athletic career, which had been the epicenter of my life up to that point, had shuttered its doors.

Like everyone on Earth, especially my generation who was just beginning its transition to adulthood, Covid was not good to me physically. I had already started to gain weight in college, but the body that could barely muster 170 lbs on the scale crossed the 200 lb threshold in 2020. It continued until 2021 when I got as heavy as 240 lbs in what felt like the blink of an eye. By 2022 I was ready to make a change as I noticed even simple games of backyard hoops grew tiresome quickly. I decided running was the best activity to do this. My cousin had told me he runs some of the local races and so I decided to get in shape to run these to have something to strive for. My first race was that April. The 7.5K Save Our Switchbacks race took me 52 minutes to finish, 11 minutes/mile. The body that used to run a sub-6 mile felt embarrassed and wanted to give up, but I decided I simply could not do that and that I would see results if I kept going. I went to the Sneaker Store (where I soon became a regular) to buy dedicated running sneakers and by the Falling Leaves 14K in September, I improved to a 9:35/mile pace and a 1:23:10 overall time. At this point, I had a routine that included getting my first gym membership and running multiple days per week mostly by myself. In 2023, I had gotten my best friend to join me in signing up for her first ever race, the St Patrick’s Day Mad Mile. Before we even ran that race we decided to also commit to signing up for our first Boilermaker 15K. I ran with her during her Go The Distance training which is where we met the Hill Striders. Since then we have done a lot of training in lockstep and she keeps me honest and doesn’t let me quit, even when I really want to. Together we have run about 30 races, including 3 Boilermakers, 4 half marathons, and 2 grueling full marathons (which might be my last marathon but she is a triathlete with aspirations of being an Iron Man - I am so proud).

I am a huge fan of the community environment that the Hill Striders cultivate. A lot of them were there to cheer me on as I finished the 2024 Falling Leaves 14K with a time of 1:08:47, a near two-minute/mile improvement from my first time at this race. I run with them on Mondays and Saturdays and we always have a blast. There are a bunch of sincerely great people who are a part of this group and I am truly glad I am a part of it too. We help each other get healthier, faster and happier. We always leave each other grinning ear-to-ear and it always makes us forget that we just finished a daunting run that put our bodies to the test and made us question our sanity. If you want running to be fun, I can not recommend the group enough.

Member Testimonials

I joined the Mohawk Valley Hill Strider family in 2018, but before joining them and after applying for the Go the Distance team, I never truly saw myself as a runner. I could manage a mile or two here and there, but I didn’t feel like I could call myself a runner, let alone belong in the world of long-distance running. That all started to change the day I stood on the Parkway watching the Boilermaker with my preschool-aged daughter, who looked up at me and said, “Mommy, why don’t you run it sometime?” That simple question stuck with me and at the time, I wished I had the motivation to actually do it. Not too long after the topic of me running it came up again. With some playful encouragement from a friend (who reminded me that applying to Go the Distance meant I’d actually have to run 9 miles) I decided to take a leap. I submitted my application, got selected, and trained for 12 weeks to complete my first Boilermaker 15K.

Being part of the Hill Striders and Go the Distance team transformed my perspective not only about what it takes to be considered a runner, but also what I was capable of doing. I began to believe in myself, even if I wasn’t the fastest on the course. Hey, a slow mile is still a mile! Every one of those steps, every mile no matter how fast or slow, helped build my confidence. What made this journey even more meaningful were the friendships I formed—genuine, supportive relationships that came into my life right when I needed them most. Since that first Boilermaker, I’ve gone on to run the Syracuse Half Marathon multiple times and even completed the Philadelphia Marathon—something I never imagined possible.

My life has become more busy in the very recent years as the preschooler (mentioned in the beginning) is now older and involved in various sports and activities, my presence at every single run each week may not occur, but there has been comfort in knowing that when the busy seasons are over and I have more time to attend the runs, I am always welcomed back with warmth and zero judgement. The Hill Striders have been more than a running club; they’ve become a family that’s helped me realize I am a runner, no matter the frequency or the pace

I started running a random day in December 2023.
I've had a life long struggle with being overweight and had asthma so I thought it would be impossible for me to run. I never played a sport, mostly walked the mile in high school, and sat out of gym class as much as I could. I've had anxiety for as long as I can remember and being bullied whenever I would workout made me never want to try.
In 2018 I tried to get into shape. I fell in love with strength training and I lost weight for the first time. But I developed some extremely unhealthy exercise and eating habits. It caught up to me and I burned myself out. I gained back all the weight and I was devastated. For 5 years I just repeated this cycle. I was depressed and I felt like I was wasting the best years of my life hating myself.
In 2023, I decided to try again, but do it the right way. I had foods I enjoyed in moderation and did workouts that I loved. I finally lost 80lbs (and have kept it off for over a year!).
I liked the idea of running but I had decided long ago that I hated it and I would be bad at it. Then I saw my sister start running and it seemed like it was worth trying. So I started with 1 mile on a treadmill and it just progressed from there.
I joined Go the Distance in 2024 and that introduced me to the Hill Striders. I went from being terrified of the Boilermaker to being around people that had completed marathons and even triathlons of all sizes. I have felt supported in every new adventure I set my sights on. When I signed up for bigger races I knew I had a running community to go back to after GTD was over. I have done 3 half and 1 full marathon, 2 sprint triathlons, and have some big goals for the future.
I am so proud of what this club has to offer. If I missed a run someone would ask if I was okay. If I was sore or stiff someone would show me a stretch to help. I've made new friends and had so many laughs. No matter where you are in your running career, no matter what your goals are, this group is incredibly supportive. I have found a love for running and it's thanks in big part to the MVHS. I'm so happy that I get to help represent this wonderful community.