I am lifelong athlete who started in junior high with basketball and volleyball, I found soccer in high school and fell in love. I played for two years in college at Spring Arbor College but an unexpected pregnancy derailed that a bit. I placed my son for adoption, finished school and started my career as an educator and coach.
I was a teacher for 6.5 years at Tri County high school as well as a volleyball and soccer coach. In that time I also became a wife and a mom and put on 40 pounds. After the birth of my youngest son, I began running with my friend in the bike picture. We started with double jogging strollers and would run and walk until we were consistently running 3-4 miles with the strollers. We did that for about three years and began to run races together. We eventually got up to the half marathon and 25k distance. Our kids outgrew the strollers and began riding bikes while we ran and now they are running with us. I also eventually added a couple of marathons, stress fractures, triathlons and the FRED relay (every year) to my list. I even started the Calorie Deficit Run which takes place in Hudsonville on Thanksgiving morning. It's a 5k and 15k run that raises money for Hand2Hand ministries. This year, at the end of the Detroit marathon, my husband and sons decided they wanted to give a half marathon a try. We all signed up for Bayshore and they have been plugging away.
I am a Runner, mom, and overall exercise enthusiast. By the way, I lost the extra 40 pounds and became a high school counselor, where I have been at Caledonia High school for the last ten years.
