I feel it’s important to start off with full transparency; I am not a runner. Yes, I run…a lot and I love it, but I still find it hard to put myself in the category of “runner.” That’s because I used to hate running. To be fair, I sucked at it. I grew up playing team sports and absolutely dreaded the inevitable team runs my coaches insisted upon. I was always at the back of the pack, huffing and puffing my way along while contemplating what malady I could feign to get me out of the next run.

Fast forward a decade or two and I’ve now completed over 40 marathons, five ultra-marathons and have lost count of how many half-marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks. That isn’t all that’s changed. I also went from eating a pretty marginal diet (no meal was complete without ranch dressing, chips and/or french fries) to my new role as a dietitian, specializing in sports nutrition. I can’t pinpoint when this shift occurred as it was more of a gradual evolution that influenced not only my personal life, but my professional one as well. I count myself lucky in that my passion evolved into a career and I truly love nothing more than sharing my passion for all things nutrition and running.

I balance my time between working one-on-one with nutrition clients, personal training clients, teaching fitness classes and lecturing as an adjunct professor of sports nutrition at the University of Vermont. Whether it’s designing training plans to help clients toe the starting the line of their first 5K, developing a fueling plan to get a seasoned marathoner a long-sought-after Boston Marathon qualifying time or speaking to a lecture hall of (mostly attentive) undergrads, there is nothing I would rather be doing. That is why I am so excited to be contributing to RunVermont’s blog. RunVermont’s most renowned race, the Vermont City Marathon, holds a special place in my heart as every Memorial Day weekend I get to run the streets of my hometown.

In contributing to this blog, I hope to be a resource for all things running and nutrition. There is a lot of advice out there about both and it can seem impossible to navigate through. Fortunately, that’s what I do. I’ll break down everything you need to know and sort through what is legit and what advice you can (and should) pass on. Whether you are a “runner” or, like me, someone who just happens to run, stay tuned as we get you ready to hit the ground running…literally.