"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
--Theodore Roosevelt



About Me

With my roommate Elise, before our
first skydiving adventure
I am a runner.

Not enough for you? I guess I should write something personal here so you can identify with my story. That's what draws you in and makes this worth reading I suppose.

My name is Kate and this blog is about my journey from couch to Boston Marathon.

My college education, like most people's, covered the major academic subjects: All-nighters, take-out, and drinking.  (In fact, I did a four-month intensive study of the latter in Dublin)  By the time I graduated and started my first job I was ready to stop destroying myself and actually do something healthy.  Thus, I picked up running.

I started my journey with the Couch to 5K running program on coolrunning.com in October 2009.  I went from barely being able to run more than 3 minutes at a stretch to being able to run a full 5K without stopping.  Running coupled with actually eating healthy (you know, fruits and veggies as opposed to wings and Papa John's) got me into better shape than I had been in probably 10+ years.

After the Wicked Half Marathon
 with my former roommate Courtney

Then, I needed another goal.  I took a flight out of Logan Airport for work the day after the 2010 Boston Marathon and saw half of my flight rocking the official BAA Marathon track jacket.  I got this crazy idea that in a year that could be me.  So I set a goal to do a half marathon within 6 months and then apply to run Boston the following April.  On September 25th I successfully finished the Wicked Half Marathon in Salem, MA with a rather lackluster time of 2:33:57 or an 11:43 pace.  Considering my training dropped off towards the end and it was a blistering 70+ degrees on race day, I was happy to just be able to drag myself across the finish line.


I decided that when I attempted to run the 2011 Boston Marathon I would need an actual support team to keep me motivated, make sure I wasn't screwing things up, and provide some sort of help in case I got injured.  My brother ran the Rock n' Roll San Diego Marathon in June 2010 with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training and after attending an info session I found that they would be the perfect choice for me.  They provided a full training program complete with coaches, group runs, and a team atmosphere and I actually have a personal connection to leukemia as my aunt lost her battle to the disease on September 13, 1994.

So far the experience has been amazing and I hope you enjoy following my journey out to Hopkinton, Mass to get to the starting line of the 2011 Boston Marathon.