Running

I'd ideally like to be a bird, but running is a close second.

—Bernd Heinrich, 2013

I started running in college, but I never went more than a mile until I turned 21. I ran my first 5K race in November 2010, and I was immediately addicted. Perhaps because running doesn't require hand-eye coordination.

I ran my first marathon in October 2011, and I've since made friends with the 26.2-mile distance, turning to ultramarathons in 2014. Now I'm on a mission to run a marathon or ultra in every U.S. state. I blog intermittently about the journey at Nike Told Me To.

I was interviewed about my ultrarunning on Pop, The Question, a pop-culture podcast. Check it out below!

Running philosophy

I believe that less is more when it comes to running equipment. Moving to minimalist footwear has improved my performance and resilience. I run in sandals—I used to wear Luna Sandals, but now I mostly run in Shamma Sandals. Even besides running, you'll usually find me in sandals, except when it's bitterly cold, icy and snowy. If you'd like to learn more about natural running, I'd recommend reading Born to Run by Chris McDougall and ChiRunning by Danny Dreyer.

Running-related writing and thinking

Running offers a lot of time for thinking. Sometimes I learn things on my runs. For instance, check out the Ignite Talk I gave on a lesson I learned during my first 50-mile race in the video below.

Articles about running:

In the realm of academic research, I have published a number of studies on running: