More than a decade ago, Sarah and I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon.

I trot out this beauty of a picture (and the accompanying feature in Runner’s World) not to share my super stylish helmet-inspired ‘do or Sarah’s cover-ready face, but because the 26.2—and all the training we did for it—is where this whole #motherrunner party inadvertently started.

The person who issued the invitation? Tish Hamilton.

If you’ve read the beginning of Run Like a Mother, you have read portions of the email exchanges Sarah and I had with Tish.

After our first book came out, Sarah and I continued our friendships + profressional relationships with Tish. We got to run a Hood to Coast with her; Tish, the sprite that she is, generously took the first very downhill, quad-thrashing leg. She and I watched the 2007 Olympic Trials together in Central Park; her live commentary made me feel like I was on ABC Wide World of Sports.

Sarah and I both wrote various stories for Tish, who, as executive editor at Runner’s World, helped direct the focus and content of the magazine. Like the capable editor she is—she honed her craft at such magazines as Rolling Stone and Outside—she guided us with expertise and grace, polishing our prose while allowing our attitudes and personalities to shine through.

If you read Tales from Another Mother Runner, you got the pure talent of Tish as you read her insightful, smart essay about having a BRF who helped her through her divorce.

You also may have heard Tish on the Boston Qualifier sqeaker AMR podcast episode where she expanded on her RW feature about barely getting into Boston.

The singlet-outfitted mice that yes, I thought were alive. Can you fault me for being a believer?

And she was our guest on the AMR podcast once more, to talk about her aforementioned essay. This time, thankfully, the topic of dead rodents didn’t come up.

As Another Mother Runner (happily) gobbled up more and more of our time—and the magazine landscape shifted—Sarah and I didn’t get to interact with Tish much, save for the occasional Twitter banter.

Then the magazine landscape–or the one Sarah and I focus on, anyway—had a seismic shift; in early 2017, Runner’s World overhauled their staff. Our hearts hurt for Tish; not only because she is a single mother, but also because her love of running is as determined and authentic as any we’ve ever seen.

We’re pretty sure she was put on this earth to document our beloved sport of running.

The passion for many miles runs (ha!) in the family; Tish (right) and her mom and sister sharing their goods from the Senior Games.

Our paths crossed unexpectedly at the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon; this was probably her 78th marathon or some such craziness. (And no, I didn’t fact-check that.) I knew she was there, but I didn’t expect to see her.

We connected, and today we are thrilled to issue this lovely full-circle announcment: Tish is going to start contributing regularly to the Another Mother Runner website! Starting Monday! She will join Adrienne Martini, who will continue her popular and entertaining Dry Martini column, as a regular contributor.

We can’t wait for you to experience the expertise, insight, humor, and perspective of this veteran #motherrunner, and we invite you to welcome her to the AMR Tribe! Follow her on Twitter, and on Instagram.

(And yes, I realize I have totally buried the lede on this post; I should have started with Tish, not Sarah + me. Tish would’ve gently fixed that.)