If you’re new here, welcome! If you aren’t, you already know that once upon a time, I despised running. That relationship evolved over the years, and a CrossFit injury led to how the whole half marathon thing started. Now, it’s time to level up once again.

ATHLETIKATY IN 2021: RUN, BonK, REPEAT.

After bonking both of my post-COVID half marathon PR attempts in 2021, I struggled to reconcile the fact that my favorite hobby didn’t love me back. But, having given in to TikTok earlier in the year, I’d started to post my unhinged mid-run thoughts throughout my training, which in turn led me to find a whole new community of fellow runners over the course of the year.

Then, Kelly Roberts & Erin Azar (aka Mrs. Space Cadet), two of my favorite run creators, announced they were collaborating on a live podcast in NYC the weekend of the 2021 NYC Marathon. I snapped up a ticket to the event and turned it into a spontaneous day trip, in hopes of renewing my enthusiasm for the sport. Erin was running her very first in-person marathon, and Kelly was hosting cheer stations with her training/coaching group, the Badass Lady Gang.

So that happened. Still fan girling. Will never not be.

Despite my original intention to only stay in the city for the day on Saturday, Kelly encouraged me to stay over and join her group to cheer along the course the next day. So I fired up the Marriott app, spent too much money on a hotel room, bought new socks & undies (from lulu of course), snagged a toothbrush from Duane Reade and stayed the night.

By 8:30a Sunday morning, I’d taken the subway from Chelsea into Brooklyn and posted up with the BALG. What an incredibly supportive group of humans who made me feel immediately welcome. 💖 We made signs, waited for the first athletes to come by, and then for the next six hours, we cheered like hell for absolute strangers until the sweep vans passed us by.

Then, we hopped the subway to midtown and did it all over again at mile 23, until we saw the sweep vans again.

It was one of the best days of my life. I thought the inspirational high from cheering for so many random strangers would wear off after a few days, but it didn’t.

After that weekend, it dawned on me that the only person telling me I couldn’t run a marathon was some pessimistic clown my head, scolding me for not having broken 2:00 in the half yet. No full marathons until you’re “fast enough” at 13.1 first. Turns out, I was using her as a convenient excuse not to do something scary.

She needed to zip it.

In the following months, I entered “marathon” into the search bar on my company’s internal website once a week, wondering if they’d be sponsoring a charity team again in 2022. On Monday, the post at work had finally gone up. I already had entered the NYC marathon general lottery, and drawing day was on Wednesday. I agonized all day before getting officially rejected at 8:42pm.

The odds weren’t in my favor to take the easy road into the race. So, when I got back from dinner on lottery night, I whipped out my laptop. By 11pm, I had committed myself to raising at least $3500 for the V Foundation on my company’s charity team.

So, I’m running the 2022 NYC Marathon. NBD.

Once upon a time, I referred to cross country as “voluntary torture”. A 5K… 3.1 miles. Now, that’s a walk in the park to me. Fast forward 20 years later, I am now going to run the ultimate run in the park.

I’ve spectated the NYC marathon twice, and can no longer contain my curiosity. I have to know what it feels like to be on the other side of the tape.

I’m a little bit scared. I’m not entirely sure what I’ve gotten myself into. But damn… I’m excited.

Those training updates I used to post for SeaWheeze? Yeah’ll those types of posts will be back. 😉

How You Can Support Me & My Team

That said, there is the fundraising component to my road to the finish line! I am running on Team V, and my goal is to raise $3500 for the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Time and again, cancer chooses the wrong people. Cancer chooses the wrong people to get sick. Cancer chooses the wrong people to lose a parent, a spouse, a dear friend. 

If that research can lead to one less family having to endure what I’ve witnessed happen to family and close friends? I’m here for it.

If you are financially able, please consider making a donation to the V Foundation in support of my run. It would mean to world to me, and to those who benefit from the V Foundation both now and in the future.

Your contribution is 100% tax deductible, and will support world-class cancer research across the U.S.

I can’t wait to share this journey with you all.

Katy ♥️