In 2013, I was learning how to navigate cones on a borrowed bike in a parking lot. Four years of training later, I was learning how to navigate the steps up to the podium on jelly legs. So here’s the deal: I was born and raised in a very rural (bears, deer, raccoons eating the cat food) town in northeastern Pennsylvania in Dingmans Ferry. My first bike was a $100 mountain bike with spring shocks, an investment of almost a year’s worth of savings deposited into a layaway at Walmart. Those spring shocks didn’t slow me down from racing the boys in my neighborhood, however! My introduction to organized sports was Little League, where I continued to learn just how competitive I was while challenging the bigger, so-called stronger boys to race around the bases. To this day, I still train mostly with men, except now, they’re usually the ones trying to keep up (while being 100% supportive and motivating!)
I followed that love of competition into High School and was recruited to run DI Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field at Bucknell University. Surrounded by amazing athletes who inspired me with an ingrained work ethic inherited from my parents, it didn’t matter that the coach told me I would spend my first two years just trying to catch up the top half of the team. I proved him wrong and made the League squad my first year. I improved my times from 800 through 10K and earned all-Patriot League honors by my second year. I was happy to be a small fish in a big pond as I was constantly learning from my teammates.
I graduated Bucknell with a Mathematics degree and moved to New York City in 2010, lured by a promising tech startup with a salary just big enough to afford the occasional burrito dinner from the neighborhood of my first apartment in gritty Spanish Harlem. I again proved my drive and determination engendered by my parents (who both, to this day, have multiple jobs) to help grow the startup from 3 people to over 60.
I continued to chase personal records in running before falling in love with triathlon in 2012. My first race ever in the sport resulted in a win at the IronGirl Sprint Triathlon in Sandy Hook, NJ. I continued to enjoy racing, and was thrilled with my trajectory. While I always pushed myself, I didn’t know how I would compare in this new sport. Fast forward past many workouts, races, and investments in equipment to this year, where I procured my elite license through my amateur wins at the Escape Philadelphia Triathlon (turned duathlon), New York City Triathlon, and the Rev3 Poconos Half Ironman.
In my first year in the professional field, my goal was to be “in the mix” and feel like I belonged. The goal for mediocrity was realized, with my 14th, 10th, and 10th place finishes in the first half of the year. It amazed me that my goals were a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I aimed higher in the second half of the season. I ended up with a 4th place finish in the Ironman 70.3 Dun Laoghaire and overall win at the Toughman Championships, establishing myself as not only belonging in the field, but able to excel in it. The following year, in 2019. I had top 10 finishes in Ironman 70.3 Marbella, Mont Tremblant 70.3, and Traverse City 70.3. The quest for a top 3 finish eluded me that year, despite PRs in the bike and run in a 70.3, with a highlight being a 1:25:59 half marathon in Traverse City.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, I moved to Exeter, New Hampshire in search of more roads for running and riding and more room to work my full time job at Citi. I’ve been loving the space and opportunity to do workouts on the roads and meet power goals in the wild, far away from the smart trainer I’d grown dependent on! I also love knowing where all of my food comes from; the prevalence of local farms who supply produce and meat has tied me closer to the community than I ever thought possible. Racing was nearly nonexistent, but I did manage a few time trials and interval workouts on my new(!) TT bike.
I currently call the Real Triathlon Squad my team and Portsmouth, NH my home. It’s an hour north of Boston, a mile from the ocean, and it boasts the most beautiful roads for running and riding.
Check out my race schedule for the season plan, see past results, or follow me on Instagram for more frequent updates and Strava for my most recent training. Shoot me a note on the “get at me” section here, shoot me a DM, or say hi at a race! I don’t bite unless you’re a Precision Hydration chew.