Author Archives: Meg

About Meg

I have been running since 2006. I started running to get in better shape and was pretty inconsistent with my running. For a year my goal was to run 5 miles. In 2008, I ran my first race the Carlsbad 5k. My goal was just to get a medal (they give medals to the first 250 to finish in each wave). I got my medal and went right back to my casual running patterns. In fall 2009, I moved to Santa Cruz to attend UCSC for grad school. There I become more interested in running as an opportunity to manage my fitness and give my little dog some exercise. I started running 5 miles on a regular basis and increased my mileage from there. In January 2010, I ran my first 10k and in April 2010, I ran my first half marathon (and that was my PR until May 2012!). I ran races about once a month and signed up for my first marathon. At many of these races, I saw runners wearing SF Marathon shirts and I decided I wanted to do that race. I ran the First Half in 2011 and also had my first experience of dehydration! (My fault.) 2011 was a hard running year for me, I wrote my thesis, studied to qualify in my PhD program, and planned my wedding. I felt like I had lost my running mojo. That fall I met fellow ambassador Alisyn and in the spring fellow ambassador Elyse. These two helped re-motivate my running and inspired me to join a local running team, Santa Cruz Endurance, in early 2012. I found having a local running community completely changed my running pattern. I incorporated new training and found new friendships. I became a stronger runner and in July 2012, I ran the 2nd half of the SF Marathon (completing the Half-it-All Challenge) where I finished with a new half PR. In December, I finished my second marathon in the crazy rainstorm that hit Sacramento. And with it a big PR as well. I love running, I love the people that I have met through running. I love chatting with people online (Twitter is my BFF, follow me @megatha) and in person about running. As an SF ambassador I am excited to share my running experience with you and hear all about your running journeys!