Why is your nickname “the punisher”?
When my husband and I moved to the Bay Area in 2011 after 4 years of living in London, we were pretty excited to do all things outside: hiking and trail running being the predominate activities of choice. My enthusiasm did not always match that of my companions and after several instances of being dragged along far past his comfort zone, my friend Paco exclaimed “You are The Punisher!” Everyone had a good laugh, and Paco eventually agreed the extra mile or two was worth the jump in the cold alpine lake. The discomfort of that extra mile before the lake faded, but the name stuck.
Do you run with music?
Sometimes. I enjoy running with music because it can feel like dancing and I love dancing. I like having music for tough solo workouts and for extremely long races. I also enjoy running without music to take in the sounds of nature. I started running with music in college to block out sounds of verbal harassment, you can read my blog about it here.
What is your running background?
I played competitive soccer for my entire childhood up until I went to college, and landed in the left wing position which meant I was running up and down the field for the entire match. In college, I ran middle distance, then the 5K and cross-country for two years at Northeastern University. I walked on my sophomore year after a few friends on the team found out I was running 5-6 days a week for fun. After college I ran a few marathons and other races, but didn’t train consistently until I settled into the trail running scene in California in 2014.
What is your favorite running product?
This is a tough one but I think I have to go with either my Calm subscription or the hypervolt because they are both crucial to my recovery and without adequate recovery, I start to unravel really quickly.