Meet M&M- Aka Marathon Mommy- Aka-Kelly

I love getting to know everyone through their introductions. Please keep them coming! What a great group of women we are going to have with us!!

My running background- Attempted to run cross country in high school and realized I was much too slow to be a runner. (kind of ironic now!) I finished out the year, each race just trying not to be the last one across the finish line. My dad teased me that if I stopped chatting with other runners I might actually finish before them. :-) I continued running just to stay in shape, usually around 2 miles. When I moved to Oregon, I heard about this race called Hood to Coast where you stay up all night running and I remember thinking people were crazy!! When I was pregnant with my first baby, I found out my work was sponsoring a team and they would pay for everything. I knew I needed a goal after I had the baby, so I decided it was perfect. Our captain gave us an awesome training schedule and 6 months after my baby was born I ran Hood to Coast and my obsession was born. That was 7 years ago!! My goal after baby #2 was to run a marathon. I ran the Newport Marathon in 2005 and it was actually horrible. I had felt so ready and it did not go how I expected. I felt miserable by mile 7 and had to walk/run the last 19 miles. Well, I was determined to do better. Now I am training for marathon #7 and I am sure you have heard my goal is to qualify for Boston. I have learned something from every marathon I have run. . My proudest marathon was the one I ran 5 months after baby #3! I have AMAZING running partners who meet me at 5:30am and push me to be a better runner and person. They have been there for me in good times and bad. (and they give me a hard time when I sleep in!) They also happen to be very speedy (3 have run Boston and our own SuziePetunia is very, very close!). :-) Some of us even did a triathlon together

My favorite thing is to share my love of running with others. I am working on becoming a personal trainer, but for now I just love encouraging others to run and race. My sister in law Kristyn is one of those. I am so so happy that she will be on the team with us. You will love her! I have loved this blog and have met many wonderful women through it. Wasatch Back will be one big party and I can't wait! And, no worries about being slow. This race is all about having fun!!

I do have interests outside of running! I love anything active- playing sports, waterskiing, snowskiing, taking my kids to the park. I am kind of a school nerd and love watching my kids learn new things. I am not naturally organized, so I am always trying to figure out how to do things better. I love being with people and my goal is to have the whole world be one big playdate. I enjoy getting to know other people because I feel like we all have something to offer and deep down we are all just doing our best. I love learning people's stories!

My dad was my biggest cheerleader and the first one I called after a race. When he passed away in 2007 I thought I would quit running. Little did I know, running would be my solace and my way to connect with him. I know he is still cheering me on!