Hiya!

Thanks for stopping by to my teeny tiny little corner of the internet. Search indices tell me that people stumble upon my site thanks to hilarious keyword searches (cameltoe marathon, anyone?), and while I don’t really use this platform to be didactic, nor do I claim coaching expertise, I do sincerely hope that you’ll be able to take away something from my running experiences. I’m always happy to connect with readers, so drop me a line anytime.

Who I am

Hello, my name is Erin, and I’ve been a runner for most of my life. (Hi, Erin).

Some of my earliest memories from elementary school come from me chasing boys (while wearing frilly and lacy dresses), and then them chasing me, on the playground. My older brother and older sister both ran track and/or cross-country, so when the opportunity to participate presented itself in 7th grade, it was a no-brainer.  For a hot minute, I was a hurdler, until I very quickly figured out that I could run faster by not jumping over things.

From 7th through 12th grade, each spring, I laced up my running shoes to run my little heart out as part of my school’s 100m, 200m, and 400m sprinting group, as well as the distances’ accompanying relays, but I was mediocre at best. The heart was definitely there, but the talent never quite caught up. For a minute, my HS track coach told me that he thought I should consider the 800m event, but I threatened to quit because I told him that was too far a distance. Yeah.

Following middle and high school track seasons, and in no small part due to the recurring shin splints, borderline stress fractures, and periostitis I got each spring during track, I hung up my running shoes for about four years in undergrad. It wasn’t until my senior year of undergrad, when I took a Track and Field PE class for the hell of it, that I even began to run again, and I finally remembered why I loved this stuff so much in the first place.

After undergrad, during my first year of working in the real world, in 2007, I trained for and ran my first marathon–the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon–yes, that was the ‘hot’ year–and have been hooked on marathons since.   I absolutely credit starting my marathoning endeavors as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, through Team in Training, for energizing me to continue to keep doing this stuff year after year. You can find more information about TNT on its named page here on my blog. 🙂

As of mid-2021, I’ve run about 30 half-marathons (I think) and 34 fulls, and 1 trail 50k ultra,  and I look forward to many more years of racing and running and pacing. I’ve qualified for the Boston Marathon over 20 times (in order: 08: Austin, Madison; 09: Rockford; 10: Boston; 12: Champaign-Urbana [first marathon postpartum]; 13: Houston, Eugene, Chicago, NYC; 14: Oakland, Newport, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa [as a 3:35 pacer for SRM]; 16: Modesto [first marathon postpartum, round 2], Pony Express, Two Cities); 17: San Francisco, Santa Rosa [as a 3:33 pacer], California International [CIM]; 18: San Francisco, CIM; 19: Mountains to Beach and have raced Boston twice (’09, ’10). I’ve qualified for NYC three times, based on my 1:35, 1:33, and 1:31 half marathon times, too. It has been an amazing, gratifying, and incredible experience.

Who I Am

• Late thirties.  BOOM.
• fresh San Jose, CA transplant, after living in Chicago for 11 years (and after growing up in NE Ohio)
• Triple-demon (BA, MS, MA from DePaul University). If you ever want to talk Spanish, English, International Public Service, or Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, I’m your gal.
• Super-proud mom to Big Sis, A (10) and Little Sis, G (6) and married to C (10+ years)
• Strict vegetarian/borderline vegan since ’08
• What I’m about: making the world a better place and spreading the running love

This Blog

Running Ruminations will document the great, magical, mystical, awesome, and grueling world that is training, running, and racing.

Let’s work together

If you’re stumbling upon my site and like what you see, awesome (and thank you!). Let’s work together. Just a few things to keep in mind, though:

• I generally don’t advertise on my site. Runningruminations is more like a firsthand account of my training, racing, and perspectives than it is a veiled commercial or ad for some product, running-related or not. Historically, I have only ever worked as a social media ambassador for local (Bay Area) races — ones I have run before or would have run anyway — and helped promote them here. If you’re contacting me because you want me to freely advertise your product on my site, regardless if it’s running-related, thanks but no thanks. We’re likely not a good fit. Truly, it’s me, not you.
• However, if you have a product you’d like me to try and want me to write a review for your site, perhaps we can work something out.
• Similarly, I’m a freelance writer (and ghostwriter) with experience in all sorts of genres and discourses, so if you are interested in working with me and perhaps having me freelance for you, let’s work something out.
• It goes without saying, but everything I express on my site reflects my own opinions about the race, training, or whatever it is about which I’m ruminating.

Contact

I love hearing from readers. If you have any questions or would like to work together, please reach out! 🙂 erin amg 2015  (sans spaces) at gmail dot com