A million years and miles ago, run blogging was all the rage. Seriously, it felt like if you ran in the early to mid-2010s you had a blog. Or maybe that was just my crowd? Either way, I was on the bandwagon. For a few years, it was my whole personality. Run bloggers were runfluencers before those were a thing.
Bart Yasso and I at the Runner’s World Half & Festival. Truly a dream meet and greet at the time.
We had meet ups, we traveled to races together, we wore matching outfits, we tried to get coveted spots in invite only events, we were brand ambassadors, we loved a race series, we idolized the big time bloggers (Ali on the Run was such a cool girl even then), and we had this crazy community of friends across the country. It was honestly so great.
With blogging friends at one of the very many races we ran together over the years, although it peaked in Philly and early Chicago.
At the time when I started my blog I had moved for work for a temporary assignment, had a long-term relationship end (unexpected to me), and running had become my outlet. Writing my blog (and RunTwitter) became my way to community at a time when I didn’t know who I was let alone where I belonged. I am forever grateful for the friends I met during this time, some of whom are still in my universe, others disappeared, just as I did for much of the last decade (unless you stayed connected to me on Instagram). I am forever grateful for the ways this blog changed me and my life, as I noted when I first said goodbye in 2016.
Since then, life has changed a lot. I revived the blog for a brief time after I was settled into my house in Nashville. And then apparently made it through two Quarantine Diaries posts in 2020 (things got dark fast after that, I know that’s why they stopped). I have continued to work through running injuries but have been back running regularly and found a community that I run with for most runs and it’s been honestly life changing for someone who’s moved cities 5 times since I started this blog in 2013. Work continues to be a big and important part of my life, and since I really stopped blogging regularly in 2016, I’ve been promoted 3 times, and have had 5 different roles. I’ve traveled to so many dream places and am always plotting my next trip (I have 3 in October, I’m out of control).
Henrietta House shortly after she became mine
Recently, I have been feeling a pull to do something a bit more creative. I have felt like I needed something to use my voice and my brain in a different way, and so here we are! The blog is back!
Here’s how it’s different this time though, I’m doing this for me. I have community. I have a life that I love. I know who I am. I’m just hoping that there is someone out there who needs to hear something I say occasionally and it helps them move through a rough season, find their thing, love themselves a little more.
If you’re here, thank you. I hope I give you a boost or make you smile, but at the very least, I hope you know you’re never alone. But if it’s just me writing for me, that’s good enough.
What do you want to hear about? How did you find me? Tell me everything!
RunStretchGo 