My first connection with running came before I could even walk when I was picked up by my father, after he had just finished running the Boston Marathon… and I promptly puked on his finishers shirt. (Sorry, dad!) So, in some sense, running has always been a part of my life. But the form and the function that it served has continually changed.

In high school, I discovered that I had a talent for the middle distance events and my passion for the sport bloomed. Almost by accident, I found myself in the position of being able to compete at the collegiate level. I went on seventeen college visits before deciding to commit to the first campus I ever set foot on – Columbia University.

It wasn’t the easiest transition, and in my sophomore year I was cut from the Ivy League Indoor Championship team. But, two years later, I was on the NCAA East Regional starting line for the women’s 800m for the second time in my career. I would leave the meet ranked 26th in the Region, with a new personal best, and missing the semifinals by 0.63 seconds.