Katie Runs for Fun

All through high school, I was fairly active, playing tennis and lacrosse.  I started to run short distances during the summers to stay in shape between the two sports seasons.  I walked onto my college’s varsity lacrosse team my freshman year, but had my college sports career cut short by a stress fracture near my left hip.  When I recovered, I resumed running, but was sporadic and not very serious about it until after college.

Marine Corps Marathon 8K, 2005

In 2005, I was talking to a friend who was going to run the Marine Corps Marathon to raise money for the Organization for Autism Research, and my interest was sparked.  I worked as a respite care provider for a young girl with autism while I was in high school, so the disorder is something that I have always been interested in and passionate about.  I wasn’t ready to run a marathon, so I signed up for what was then the Marine Corps Marathon 8K race (there is now a 10K race instead).  I raised about $500 for autism research, ran my first race, gained confidence in my running abilities and after seeing the marathon for the first time, decided that I needed to try it.

Marine Corps Marathon, 2007

I spent 2006 training for my first Marine Corps Marathon.  During that time, I branched out to run other races at shorter distances, in particular 5Ks.  I was a marathon newbie and didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was passionate about running and passionate about raising money for OAR.  I was successful in my first marathon attempt and finished in about 4.5 hours.  In 2007, I decided to run it again, and this time my husband decided to run with me.  However, I struggled with Achilles tendonitis that entire summer, and had to limit my training to avoid aggravating the injury.  I crossed the finish line with my husband beside me and a slightly slower than the year before.

With my cousin and fellow MCM finisher, Caroline, Marine Corps Marathon 2008

After running the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007, I took a few months off from running to let my Achilles tendon heal.  I began taking kickboxing classes at my gym, greatly improved my strength level and dropped some weight.  Throughout that winter, I slowly reintroduced running to my workout routine, and by spring was running every race I could find.  I got serious about my speed and tempo workouts, and made sure to get in my easy runs.  I was PRing in every distance, from the 5K to the half marathon.  I won a local 5K, placed second in another 5K, and placed second in a half marathon.  I made my company’s JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge team, and our team won the local race and got to race in the championships in New York City.  In the meantime, I again started fundraising for OAR and training for my third Marine Corps Marathon.  I crossed the finish line of my third marathon in 3:32:55–improving my previous marathon PR by an hour and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

I intended to run the Boston Marathon in April 2009, but a stress fracture of my left fibula derailed my plans.  I am still eligible for next year, so I am looking ahead to that.  As of right now, my leg is healing well and I intend to resume running and racing as soon as I am able, and hopefully squeeze in a fall marathon as well.  In the meantime, I’m trying to stay active by cross-training while still giving my leg the rest it needs. 

Race Pictures