City: Bloomington, MN

Race: Marathon

Fundraising Goal: $1,000

Race Goal (time/just finish!):

A Goal: 3:56:34 (1 second faster than my personal record marathon time :) ) and finish with a smile and be grateful for being able to do that.

B Goal: Finish with a smile and be grateful for being able to do that.

In a few sentences, describe your connection to U2FP, why you chose to run in support of U2FP, and whether you have a personal connection to spinal cord injury and paralysis: I am friends with Matthew Rodreick - the Executive Director for U2FP. A father to Gabe who has a spinal cord injury, Matthew’s and his family’s story of dealing with the impact of the injury and the work he does to find cure for it is very touching and inspiring to me. I appreciate the effort by U2FP of bringing not only scientists and policy makers, but also patients, to the table as stakeholders in finding treatment for spinal cord injury. I also believe that heightened public interest and awareness, and money, really impacts how fast treatments to any diseases can be found, eg: covid vaccines. And U2FP is an organization aiming to do that for spinal cord injury.

Is this your first marathon/race? If not, what others have you completed? I have done 4 marathons so far (TC Marathon - twice, Fargo and Grandma’s).

What do you crave after a long run? My appetite is actually suppressed right after a long run. But I am the most ravenous in the evening after a morning long run. I eat anything in sight.

Do you listen to anything when you train or race? If yes, what? No headphones for me. My own thoughts. Sometimes some good discussion with myself, but mostly nonsense that I don’t remember at the end of my run.

What are you most excited and/or nervous about for the marathon? I have done four marathons before, but for any marathon, at the beginning of training while struggling to finish 10 miles I wonder how I would be able to finish a marathon in four months. But that is why we train. And it makes me nervous and excited to have the goal of doing this marathon as well as I did for my personal record given this is my first marathon coming back after giving birth.

What is an interesting or unique fact about yourself (or anything else you’d like to share)? I am an introvert but most people around me don’t believe that.