I’ve always been self-conscious about my weight and the way I look when I exercise because I never considered myself to be “fit”. When I was in my 20’s I ran in the dark because I was afraid I looked stupid to other observers and in my early 30’s I stopped running altogether. I gained around 100 pounds with my first pregnancy because I was stressed out from work (I’m a middle school teacher) and was tired all of the time. Later I found out that my negative self-talk let to an unhealthy life-style and people around me were concerned about my weight. As a result I started searching for running groups and found Running Evolution in 2009. I began my running journey with Beth’s Couch to 5K class and have since progressed to running a marathon in 2014. I love my running community and the joy it brings to me, because we focus on the joy of journey rather than just the end result. I’m a wife, mother of two busy girls, middle school teacher, avid coffee drinker (beer is great too), runner and yogi.