1) What have been some of your biggest highlights as a runner? Answer: For me some of the biggest highlights as a runner have been the people I have been able to meet. Going to the bigger meets like nationals is amazing and a great experience for the race itself, but meeting the other athletes and getting to know them are some of the best memories I have. 2) What has challenged you the most? Answer: I think the thing that has challenged me most is the pressure of performing well. I put a lot of pressure on myself and when I don’t meet my goals it is hard for me, but afterwards I remember to take every race as a learning experience and try to fix out the Kinks in the next race. 3) What’s been a life lesson you’ve learned from running? Answer: One of the biggest life lessons has been work ethic, in order to compete at the level I want to compete at I have to be so dedicated, and I learned that really fast. After applying that to my running I realized that it would help in other aspects of my life so I applied it there too, it’s been a big change for the better.

What has challenged you the most as a runner? Having Diabetes has really taught me not to quit. It would be so easy to just stop training and being able to use my Diabetes as an excuse to quit the team. Quitting has never been an option to me in my life and I wasn’t going to start then. Everyone goes through different things and everyone has their own struggles, but they shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not work hard or to quit. While it’s not easy to go through the struggle, it’s always worth it in the end and I have really come to learn that in the past two years of having to deal with this disease. Don’t quit, use any struggle to push you to places that you never thought that you could go, it will make you a better runner and a better person if you do.

What has been one of your greatest feelings of satisfaction as a runner? One of the greatest feelings is when you go into a race mentally prepared, and you can do everything right and achieve your goal, and maybe even surpass it. You know, one of those races when you do even better than you expect.

It will be tough, it’s going to hurt, teammates will have better days (be happy for them!), competitors will have better days (be happy for them too!), and you might not reach every milestone exactly when you plan to. But that’s ok. We as athletes cannot let fear take over our minds. We must have a “CAN DO” attitude. Never focus on what is out of your control. All you can control is your attitude, your training, and your mind (aka…shutting out fear).

I got mono my junior and senior year in high school. I thought to myself, “Why is this happening to me? Again? I don’t know. But I can’t change what has happened. All I can do is respond in a positive manner and know that there are greater purposes and plans ahead.”

I love working with the kids. It’s all about the kids! It’s what coaching is all about. Seeing them succeed and go beyond their own expectations makes it all worth it for me.

I don’t really like running that much, but I really liked this race. My dad should get a shirt that says, “World’s Best Dad!”

Obviously, genetics played some role in my success as a runner. My father ran in college, as did one of my sisters (who also won a collegiate national championship) and one of my brothers. But like any building block of athletic success, genetics can only take you so far. So despite my relative lack of running knowledge and “runner nerdness,” what led to my success as a runner? In a word, I lived to compete. The word compete is latin and it means to strive for something. I have always been a very competitive person, from running to other sports like basketball to ping-pong and Mario Kart.

My best memories with running involve my friends.