DWRunning Tenure:

Joined in December 2022

PRs:

5k: 17:17, 8k: 29:51, 10k: 38:43, Half Marathon: 1:19:01, Marathon: 2:48:07, 90k: 7:07:08

Social Handles:

IG: nfeamster

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay healthy and keep running strong, and at will, for as long as possible
Keep improving my half-marathon and marathon times
Make a few more strong showings at some road ultras

Most Memorable Race:

The 2017 Comrades Marathon (where in South Africa, this marathon was actually 87km). Seeing more than 20,000 runners from such diverse backgrounds, all supporting one another, was a vibe I'll always cherish. I remember seeing my watch click past 26.2 miles and being amazed that I was still running strong. After about 60k things got really hard. Someone started running beside me and said "You can do it, you've got silver [sub-7h30m], let's go!" That gave me a boost and I beat my goal time by more than 45 minutes, finishing in 7h13m. After the race, I stopped with my family at a fast food restaurant; while I was eating, someone came up and asked to see my silver medal because they'd followed Comrades their whole lives but had never seen a silver medal. In that minute, I came to appreciate that I'd done something really special. I've gone back twice since and hope to return a few more times.

Fun Facts:

I cycled competitively in college. I eventually switched to running because it was more time-efficient, and I didn't really like the "demolition derby" aspect of criteriums.
In grad school, I was on a club squash team. I eventually switched to running because it was more time-efficient, and I didn't really like the fact that I was regularly losing matches to people twice my age.
I play the guitar and piano.

Track or Trails?:

Point-to-point runs!

Morning or Afternoon?:

Morning

Solo or With Friends?:

Both!

Summer or Winter?:

Autumn! I love cold winter runs and post-run summer lake dips, but nothing beats running through the colors.

Bolded PRs are PRs run while training with DWRunning.