About

Hi! I’m Jackie. I’m a twenty-something, marathon running, veggie loving girl on a quest to run 26.2 in all 50 states!

I moved to Vermont in January 2014. Shortly after, I decided I wanted to run a marathon. 16 weeks and countless training miles later, I crossed the finish line with a huge sense of accomplishment, feeling instantly hooked & craving more. The rest is history. So far, I’ve completed 5 marathons!

I can’t say exactly when I made the decision to run 26.2 in all 50 states but it was somewhere in between signing up for my 2^nd marathon and finishing it. Something about crossing that finish line and the thought of doing it 49+ more times, in every state was just something that really lit a fire inside of me. This is a lifetime goal of mine but plan on running as many states as possible in the next few years. Suggestions are welcome!

Early on in 2015, I made a decision to eat a plant-based diet because everything I was reading led me to believe that it was going to help me achieve my running goals. So, I stopped eating beef, pork, and poultry and couldn’t be happier. Some days I do find myself craving some chicken wings or a steak bowl from Chipotle but other than that: I really love this lifestyle change! At first I made this decision for a positive influence in my training. However, after doing much research, I now feel my reasons behind the change are a 50/50 between the running benefits and ethical reasons. I truly believe this change has made a huge impact on my running, in a good way. This isn’t my first attempt at going veg. I tried in HS. I tried in college and was bound to fail. I tried in fall of 2014, after reading Scott Jurek’s ‘Eat & Run’, but it didn’t stick. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I really can’t say for sure what clicked for me this time around but my body & running are thanking me.

My whole world doesn’t revolve around running though. I’ve got a wonderful boyfriend, the most amazing group of friends & the greatest family. I love to snowboard. I’m an animal lover and can’t wait to have a puppy of my own. Huge Taylor Swift fan. I could eat avocado with every meal. I can’t say the word breakfast. And a whole list of other things that make up my crazy beautiful life!

Join me on my quest to conquer each state 26.2 miles at a time!