SBS board

Welcome to our next round of Tales From Another Mother Runner Thursday, where we preview one of the authors in our forthcoming book. While our names are on the cover, the book is a truly celebration of this amazing, badass community: not only does it contain 22 essays from a range of talented writers and mother runners, it has miles of insight, advice, stories, and humor from hundreds of you. 

As the publishing date nears (less than one week!), we’re casting the spotlight on SBS.

Important Schedule Note: We’ve flushed out much of the information for our events for the first half of 2015. Check it all out here–and hope to see you Portland locals at Powells on March 2!

My running history: I wasn’t athletic at all as a child, but I took up rowing at Colgate University in central New York State. When I started running for cross-training, I discovered I enjoyed being outside and testing my limits. Braving frigid snowstorms during my freshman year gave me my first glimpse of my inner badass.

Living in San Francisco after graduation, I wanted to be outdoors 24/7, mountain biking, hiking, and trail running. Yet I rarely raced. I didn’t start doing running races until I resumed rowing: Once ignited, my competitive fire burned brightly. I wasn’t winning any hardware; I was racing to prove my mettle to myself. San Francisco Marathon, a bunch of Hood to Coast relays, New York City Marathon, and more. Now I live in Portland, Oregon, a running-centric city where it’s possible to run outdoors year ’round. I completed my 12th marathon last November, and look forward #13: Boston 2016.

My writing history: My father often says our family are “people of the word,” so I wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. In junior high, I worshipped Bruce Springsteen, and I had an epiphany: If I wrote for magazines, I could interview The Boss. Alas, that scheme didn’t pan out, but I interviewed scores of sports figures and experts in my two decades of writing about health, fitness, and gear for a variety of publications, including SELF, O! The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, and Runner’s World. My proudest accomplishment was breaking the news of Kara Goucher’s pregnancy on the front page of the Sports section of The New York Times on Mother’s Day 2010, which was a few months after Run Like a Mother debuted. I’ve enjoyed the AMR partnership with Dimity since then.

My essay, “Coming of Age,” delves into all the effects of aging I’d been feeling, from early menopause to creaky knees to slower splits. I worry I often come across as, well, the female version of cocksure, so I wanted to reveal the doubts and concerns clanking in my head. For about 18 months there, I was convinced slower race times was an unavoidable fate.

You coin a new phrase in your essay: menopot. Can you explain what that is? While I wish I could take credit for coming up with the clever term, “menopot,” I can’t. It’s a term middle-aged gals toss around to describe the pouchy belly that seems to arrive as periods depart. My good running friend Ellison, who is in her 50s, introduced me to that portmanteau.

Recent memorable run: My best running friend, Molly, was out of town, but her 18-year-old daughter, Lane, was home from college, so I set out with the younger generation. It was the day after Valentine’s Day, and Lane is enjoying an exciting freshman year. Gabbing with her for 10 miles was better than watching a juicy chick-flick. Additionally, Lane respects me as a runner and a level-headed mom, so I felt appreciated on several levels.

Recent horrible run: I joined Molly for 14 of her 18 miles, and my arse was dragging the entire way! I had no energy, and each slight rise felt like massive climb. Poor Molly: She had to run four more miles after dropping me off, yet she had to cajole and encourage me to keep moving forward for our last six miles together. I felt like a sack of rocks she had to lug along!

Next up on my running calendar: For no reason other than just cuz, I’m taking a hiatus from racing. Molly, however, is keeping me spry: She’s training for a mid-April marathon, and I’m sticking by her side for the majority of her training runs.