Runner’s World+ Member: Joie Neely
Joie is a Runner’s World+ member. Join her and thousands of others chasing their goals with day-by-day training plans, expert advice from editors and coaches, and unlimited digital access. We regularly feature members online and in print!
My first running memory is beating all the boys in a race at an elementary school summer camp! Running has given me freedom from body image issues, made me proud of my accomplishments, and inspired me to keep setting new goals after kids.
While I am enjoying taking it easy in my running, I also want to set some big goals to get faster and run farther in the next few years. I want to explore this community and use it as inspiration for those goals.
Right now, running is my time to just enjoy nature and share this sport with my kids while they are still little enough to push in the stroller. I love running with them and showing them all the cool places there are around here to run. It’s also a great mental and physical boost for me during the sometimes long days with little kids at home. And I have some big goals to get faster and run another marathon before I turn 40!
I usually drop my four year old at preschool and then drive to a trail with my two year old to run. Or I will run with both kids in the stroller and drop the oldest at school and then keep on running. I always end with a big iced coffee :)
My favorite run is an out and back on the Mt. Vernon Trail here. It takes you along the Potomac River and you can see all the sites of D.C. while you run, and it’s along the water so it feels different. You can also run on it all the way to the Reagan National Airport and watch the planes land and take off. The boys love that!
It’s definitely my double Bob stroller! Not only is it the only thing that really allows me to get my runs in during this time in my life, but in terms of hauling stuff it can’t be beat. I can bring my phone, water, snacks, diaper bag, kids toys, blankets etc. without even thinking. I seriously want to kiss the people at Bob for inventing this stroller!
I’ve got so many! I want to get faster and run a sub 24 minute 5k. I also want to run long and run one more marathon before I turn 40 in four years. I’d like to do NYC or Chicago and would love to break 4:20 there. Most importantly, I want to put together a full year of injury free running.
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