#RunDixieRun

“There’s power in my losses and there’s power in my wins” – Stormzy

A runner’s relationship with the sport is the wildest thing, if we’re honest — it’s the definition of love/hate. We pour our hearts, souls, sweat, blood (sometimes literally), and tears into it. More often than not, we end up with average performances, and when non-runners ask us why, all we can say is, “Because I love it.”

As I start this journey (again), I find myself right back at the beginning. This past year has been incredibly tough — I’ve been knocked down over and over again, and picking myself back up has been no easy feat. Honestly, it’s been exhausting. Somewhere along the way, I lost a bit of the joy, the love for being out on the road, for pushing myself just beyond my limits.

But I know the love is still there. The dreams, goals, and targets remain unchanged. I’ve just had to pause, reflect, and ask myself whether I still want it badly enough to do the hard thing: delay the timeline, give myself grace, and slowly build back. The answer is yes — absolutely. But this time, the road feels lonelier. It’s no longer running alongside the incredible athletes I’m lucky to know; it’s walking my own quieter path.

Since April, I’ve been struggling with my mental health. It’s felt like one obstacle after another, barely enough time to breathe before getting knocked down again. The turning point came in May, when I lost my best friend. Friendship breakups are brutal — sometimes worse than romantic ones — because those people become so deeply woven into our lives that imagining life without them feels impossible. And when there’s no closure, the grief is ambiguous and disorienting.

It was during that time that I realized why training and running felt different: I had been relying on it as my only tool to manage my mental health. But the weight I was carrying had grown heavier than running alone could lift.

That small spark of realization — and the support of a few amazing friends — helped me reach out for real, professional help. Over the past two months, I’ve been working through what was holding me back. I’ve started learning tools to cope, to heal, and in doing so, I’ve begun freeing running to be what it always was for me: something I love. A sport I want to improve in. A place I belong.

Now, I run because I want to. Because the goals I have still matter. Because I find joy in “embracing the suck.” Though I’ll admit — with my fitness having taken a hit — I’m testing just how deep that love runs. There’s a long way to go before I even get close to my 2023 self, but I’m here. Still running. Still chasing.

So today, August 1st, 2025, I begin again — working toward a myriad of goals. One particularly massive one. Many small ones. But most of all, I want to push myself to be the best version of me. Does that sound cheesy? Probably. But is it true? Hell yeah.

I don’t know exactly how Run Dixie Run will unfold, or how I’ll structure it yet. But I know I want to create a space to share the good, the bad, the ugly, and the joy of running as I pursue these goals. I want to tell not only my story, but also the stories of those who inspire me. I want to explore all the different pieces that make a runner (at least in theory) feel whole.

I hope you’ll join me for the ride — to meet the incredible community around me, to get to know my village, my stride tribe, and to experience some epic adventures as I go from The Comeback Kid…?
to The Comeback Kid!