Amanda:

I started on a whim! I have always been athletic, I played Division III Lacrosse for Bowdoin College, but I didn’t start competitively running until I moved to Boston. I decided to run the Boston Marathon in 2010 with the Dana-Faber Marathon Challenge team as a way to meet friends. Through those harsh winter training sessions, I found an amazing community of runners and I fell in love with the sport.

After that first marathon, I was hooked! I achieved a “Boston Qualifier” time of 3:26 and signed up to run the following year. Since then, I have run in 19 marathons, qualified for two Olympic Trials, married a fellow marathon running enthusiast, had a beautiful baby boy, and became an Adidas sponsored athlete.

In 2015, I ran the Berlin Marathon for the first time and hit a personal best time of 2:46. It was my husband who pointed out that I was only 4 minutes off from qualifying for the Olympic Trials and encouraged me to continue training. Nine weeks later, I competed in the California International Marathon and hit another personal best: 2:40.

At the finish line, I was draped in an Olympic flag and everyone around me cheered. I felt so supported, it was amazing. It was at this moment that I decided to make running my profession (previously, I had worked as a social worker in a hospital setting).

My other career highlights include placing 62nd at the Olympic Trials in 2016, running the Boston Marathon while I was 14 weeks pregnant for a time of 3:05, and running the Boston Marathon the following year at 5 months postpartum. It was a huge accomplishment for me because I proved to myself that I could still be a competitive runner with a child.

I qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials while my son was just 10 months old. For the majority of my training program, I was pushing the stroller ahead of me.

It’s true – runners love cardio. So much so that many runners forget that they need to keep their muscles strong and malleable by cross training. I focus on low-impact workouts that focuses on stretching and core strength.

For beginners, it’s important to set small and attainable goals. Examples of attainable goals would be challenging yourself to go a quarter mile further than last time or walking less than you did on the previous run. Setting small goals will keep you motivated to keep going!

It’s important not to increase your distance by more than 20 percent in one week. This prevents many common running injuries and keeps you healthy to tackle the next week without feeling overly sore.

Most importantly, running should be fun and therapeutic. If running doesn’t bring you joy, you’re missing out on something! Try to run with and without music, inside and outside, to find out what you enjoy the most.

Right now, you can sign up for one-on-one sessions with me. This includes a dynamic warm up, a treadmill workout (or outdoor run when the weather permits) stretching and yoga postures specific to your needs, and then we will finish it off with a recovery massage to prevent injuries. We are looking to launch a FLX Wellness running team to go on scheduled runs with residents who have similar goals. Running teams are great because when it’s finally race day, you have an entire community supporting you.

I am hoping to inspire residents to find a passion like I have with running and encourage them to participate in a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or a full marathon.

I want to develop a running program with the FLX Wellness team and to help residents reach their fitness potential and get involved in an activity that everyone can do – run!

To inquire about running teams, book a session, learn more about our new FLX Wellness run program please email Amanda at anurse@mtbflx.com.