I was born and raised in Brooklyn before it became all about artisanal pickles, cupcakes, beards, and craft beers. My day and night job is working as a cloud systems engineer for a Boston based tech company.

I started running around spring 2011. I was running to get in shape for a basketball tournament. Up until then, I can count on one hand how many times I ran a mile. In my defense, I grew up in Brooklyn and running was not a sport people gravitated towards. Running was punishment for showing up late to practice. My workout routine always involved lifting heavy, and mostly just lifting weights. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to survive a one day full court tournament with no cardio. After the tournament I kept up with running and signed up for my first road race the Prospect Park 5 mile Turkey Trot.

I joined the Whippets on May 2012 after the Brooklyn Half. I was looking for a team to train after signing up for my first marathon. Training solo for my first half marathon was not fun. That summer I went to almost every workout in Brooklyn. My favorite workout were hill repeats with the team. I like the back and forth, where they’re pushing you or vice-versa. I think I PR’d almost every race summer/fall of 2012. My first marathon was real challenge. If it weren’t for Otto cheering around mile 22 or Patricia jumping in to run a couple miles at the end, I may have walked those last few miles. After it was all over, my new goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It took a couple years and tossing less plates around in the gym but I got my BQ in New Jersey Marathon 2014 (I credit Chris Forti for pushing me that winter training cycle). I remember at one workout he had an icicle beard at the end.

The support the team provides is the second to none. Whether it’s a weekly workout in the dead of winter, or marathons in other states, whippets are everywhere running, cheering or doing both. Lately my favorite runs have been my run commute home to Brooklyn and Brooklyn weekend runs when we decide to grab some beers after the run. It makes all the weekly mileage and lack of sleep bearable.

I just started my taper for my second Boston marathon. It will be marathon number 7 (number 8 is not too far behind). My goal is to run under 3 hours for Boston. I had nice PR for NYC Half and hope to keep the momentum going for Boston.