Competing in 2016 and 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials; collegiately competing just about anywhere in the 1,500, but especially PAC-10s.

My spouse, Rohit Naimpally, is a fantastic human being. He’s a very talented runner — in fact, he’s responsible for me finding my way to the marathon — and talented in just about everything else: writing books and blogs, cooking delicious meals, caring for our dogs, coming up with adventures for us to go on, and making me laugh. On top of that, he’s one of the kindest, most compassionate people you’ll ever meet, and he’s done so much to support me in my running career and my academic career. He works for Tipping Point Communities, which supports organizations working to combat poverty in the Bay Area through grant-making and capacity-building. We also have two amazing dogs, Naina, a wise and spunky 13-year-old mystery mix, and Tilden a sweet and energetic 2-year-old Aussiedoodle. Also, my parents should get an award for all the cheering they’ve done through the years, whether schlepping to track meets during high school to cheer me on during the 800 meters, or traveling here and there to watch marathons. My brothers have also been so supportive — I have distinct memories of their energetic cheering from both Olympic Trials races I’ve run, plus many many other races throughout the years. Now that I’ve been on the cheering side a time or two, I realize how much fun it is, but also how much stress and pressure is involved!

Maybe this is a little cheesy, but I hope that’s still ahead of me.

When I graduated from college, I thought my competitive racing days were behind me - besides, I always struggled with longer distances - so I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover running in a new way through the marathon a few years later. Since then, training for and running marathons has been a core part of how I spend my time and energy, and such a source of joy.

Two come to mind: (1) Crossing the finish line at CIM in 2015 to qualify for my first Olympic Trials, something that wouldn’t have even crossed my mind as a possibility two years earlier. The race organizers made the moment so special: I was draped in a U.S. flag, and able to hobble straight into over to my now-husband for a big hug. I had family there, too; it was a really great experience. (2) Training for the Boston Marathon along the course, with my husband either running alongside or going from place to place to cheer me on and hand me fuel. I have a lot of great memories of running together, but I’ll always look back fondly on those early days when we were just getting to know each other, and I was just getting into marathoning.