Runner Profile – Ray Moran

Ray is an active Run856 member, and well known for his encouragement to all 856 members. Ray reached out to me recently looking to share about how his struggle with alcoholism led him to running.

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Runner Profile

Runner Profile – Matt Machinsky

I met with Matt several weeks back and we ran his 5k route through Haddon Heights. Afterwards, he shared about his struggle with weight gain after having kids, and how he finally committed to losing the weight. Running has obviously been a factor in his weight loss, but nutrition is crucial as well. When we…

Runner Profile

Runner Profile – Elyse Houck

I chatted with Elyse one week after completing her first marathon. She is a force to be reckoned with, and has obviously been bitten by the running bug hard, going in under a year from her first 5k to her first full marathon. Elyse’s first running experiences were as a student athlete involved in crew,…

Runner Profile: Dave Goldstein

I ran with Dave for the last few miles of his long run and then chatted over his recovery drink of choice, Diet Dr Pepper, about his running, Ironman training, and running with his son Josh. Dave’s running story is a remarkable story, not only of his own personal transformation, but also of building community.…

Runner Profile

Runner Profile: Kashi Davis & Diane Stopyra

I went with Kashi and Diane on their awesome running tour of Cape May and learned a bit about Cape May’s history and ecology. Then, we basked in the sunshine, and I talked with them a bit more about their running backgrounds. Kashi and Diane are the runners who lead Run Cape running tours. The…

Runner Profile – Alicia DiFabio

Alicia is a mom of 4 girls (yeah, you read that right F-O-U-R), a runner, triathlete, on the board of directors of the Mullica Hill Women’s Tri Club, breast cancer survivor, and to add to that already quite impressive resume, she is now a published author. Alicia entry into running happened as a kid running…

Race – Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15k

I made a number of inadvisable decisions on race morning, but that didn’t stop me from having a great run! I did the Philly Hot Chocolate 15k two years ago in 2015 as a training race for my first half marathon. I loved the swag (awesome hooded sweatshirts!) and the distance (longer than a 5k…

Race – Philly Love Run 2017

I ran the Philly Love Run this past weekend and learned a few lessons along the way. TLDR: Gummy bears and high fives: good. Frozen toes: bad. I signed up for the Love Run late in the game, and it was probably a bit of a foolish thing to do because I had already signed up…

Race – GORUCK Light Philadelphia

It is a bit of a misnomer to call a GORUCK a “race” because a GORUCK really is a team challenge event. Generally, a race report from a GORUCK is called an AAR – after action report (GORUCK has strong military connections and a lot of their lingo and events are influenced by that). That…

Gear – Nathan VaporAiress Hydration Pack

I’ve been searching for a while for a solution to hydration on long runs and at longer events, but couldn’t quite find the right thing. I finally pulled the trigger on a Nathan VaporAiress hydration pack. Note: I bought this product with my own money and have not been compensated in any way for this…

Runner Profile – Heather Leiser

Having both had our long training run the day before, Heather and I met for a short recovery run. Then, we debated the relative merits of running in a visor versus a hat, as well as the juggling the demands of motherhood and a career with a training schedule. Heather first started running in 2010.…

Gear – DIY Sandbag

Sandbags can be an awesome training tool. When I wanted to add some sandbag work to my repertoire, I didn’t want to shell out money, so I made my own. When I started training for my first GORUCK event, the training plan I was following called for shoulder-to-shoulder presses with a sandbag. I didn’t own…