I started distance running when I did my first 5K in 1994 in Washington, DC.

I did my first Boston Marathon in 1996 while in graduate school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  It was the 100th running of this storied race and I have completed it four times.

What excites me most about running is the satisfaction I get from completing goals like earning my WMM Six Stars; the fact that I have been able to complete a marathon on literally every continent (7Cs); and the amazing people I have met along the way in the awesome running community!

Many years ago I read a quote by John “The Penguin”  Bingham who said, “The miracle isn’t that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”  For 30 years this has been my mantra as I toed the start line all over the world, often as the only Black person and routinely among the heaviest and slowest in the bunch.  I did not let that stop me because I belong and am a citizen of the world.  To quote Bingham once again:  “I am a runner because I run.  Not because I run fast.  Not because I run far.  I am a runner because I say I am.  And no one can tell me I’m not.”  WE belong and deserve to be in whatever space we choose, accomplishing whatever goals we set.  It might be a little intimidating at the outset, but we have the right stuff inside us to thrive.  Don’t let anyone, including yourself, tell you otherwise.  Let’s GO!