…the long story…

I grew up in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where most of my family still is. I moved to the US in 2001, and lived in Philly for 4 years, I loved Philly. But I had never bothered with sports. Yuk.

In 2006, when I had just moved to NYC, a friend forced me to sign up for the NYC Half Marathon. After having suffered a heart attack, at 28 years old for no particular reason, I had decided that running would keep doctors and their surgeries and pills away… Somehow running sounded like a good idea.

I instantly got hooked. After the 2006 NYC Half, I immediately decided to do my first marathon. I happily completed the 2008 New York City Marathon, and managed to go sub-four (3:51) too! Soon I was racing every other weekend and by the time the 2009 NYC marathon rolled around, I snagged a Boston Qualifier, though I was badly injured with piriformis syndrome, and then got ITBS while training for Boston in early 2010. Still, I run the Boston Marathon that year (and have been re-BQing since) as well as every New York City Marathon since (minus Sandy’s!), plus a few ultra-marathons too!

I have the honor to declare that I am a Runner. Running has taken me onto amazing adventures, including the Boulder Bolder (a 10k with 55,000 people at 5,000 feet altitude), the Mountain Madness 50K (where I broke my arm, tore a rotator cuff, broke 2 ribs, just two weeks before the NYCM!), the Knickerbocker 60K (nine dizzying loops in Central Park!), the Empire State Building Run Up (amazingly lung-searing 80something floors!!), the North Face 50K Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain (wildness and snakes!), and many more races in other cities and countries, with amazing friends and elite runners! Running has not only made me the healthiest I have ever been (plus getting my heart back to lovely shape!) but it’s made me unmeasurably happy and changed my life completely.

After reading Born to Run, and tired of getting injured and having to take at least a few months every single year, just like pretty much everybody else, I started experimenting with minimalist running and technique. I had also been staying off the pavement and on trails as much as possible and kept doing a lot of research on biomechanics and what were the best ways to injury-proof my running. Then, I was invited to participate in the inaugural Proprioception Coaching and Training Clinic with Lee Saxby; I learned a lot about the biomechanics of human locomotion, how to diagnose inefficient and/or injurious running form, and how to coach correct form using slow-motion, high-def video analysis and drills. It really helped my own running also and I get a lot of satisfaction being able to help other athletes! Soon after, I got certified to coach by USA Track and Field as well as Road Runners Club of America. I continue to be very passionate and dedicated to applying what I learned through  certifications, courses, lectures, collaborations, reading, and also through a lot of my own experiences over the last years, to help out anyone interested in becoming a happier and more efficient and injury-free runner.

Right before that, I had started blogging at Runners’ World, during one of my injuries: I was so upset that no one around me wanted to hear about it anymore. The blog had really opened up many amazing opportunities for me: from being able to share my love for the runs, to bring a lot of amazing running friends into my life, and many incredible adventures… which I am not planning on giving up! That then evolved into creating a community that now lives on instagram.

And, since running had taken over my life in the last, I started working at many running-related organizations, coaching for Girls on the Run, the Lower East Side Girls Club, Achilles International, the NYRR Youth Programs, New York Road Runners, and eventually I moved from the corporate world a few years ago to work at running-related non-profits. In the last 14 years, I held full-time positions at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, Development Director at Team UP! with Autism Speaks, then as Social Media Manager at New York Road Runners, and currently doing Marketing at The Child Mind Institute.

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