Meet our Boston Marathon® Runners

I’ve been part of a unique community at Haley House in Boston for the last two years. I’m a member of an intentional community centered around food justice that has been part of Boston’s South End neighborhood since the 1960s! Haley House has partnered with Lovin’ for years, bringing in at least two fresh food deliveries each week to cook and distribute in our soup kitchen. I’ve gotten to know a handful of Spoonfuls’ awesome staff members, particularly their Food Rescue Coordinators. 
 
I believe that a huge part of food justice is combatting food waste. I’m passionate about actionable solutions to wasted food’s environmental and social impacts in this country. Food is a way to connect with others, share a moment with or without conversation, celebrate culture, and nourish our bodies to do awesome things, like work in a soup kitchen at 6 AM (and run a marathon)!

I’m a first-time marathon runner, and I’m having a great time training for the race so far! I’ve run two half-marathons before, so this will be my first full. It’s a little daunting, but long-distance running has helped me get to know Boston more than any other activity I enjoy. I infamously joined the cross country team for one season in middle school, only to complain to my mother that running was u0022a good walk spoiled.u0022 Many years later, through a pandemic and other strange seasons of life, I’ve relied on long-distance running as a hobby that brings consistency and challenge to my life. It started as a pandemic hobby that allowed me to continue socializing and seeing my friends safely outside and has grown into something I never anticipated it would! The recipe for running is relatively simple, in my experience: I work hard at it, and I get better! That can be a comforting feeling during such uncertain times in the world.

I live just a few blocks from Copley Square, where the Marathon’s finish line is. I like to pass through that area and imagine what it will be like to finish the race before heading down to run a few loops around the Esplanade! I love winter running, and the river always looks so gorgeous when it’s covered in snow. I’ve also done some fun long runs out to The Arnold Arboretum, which is great for a hill workout!

Answering this one feels a little like cheating…I waste less food by making food brought by Spoonfuls. My Haley House housemates and I sometimes compile a ‘Lovin’ wishlist’ in the days leading up Spoonfuls’ deliveries of things we hope will magically appear in that week’s haul and that we look forward to making for our community. (If you write it down, maybe it will be?) It worked on a few occasions, too. Once, our list-making (and Spoonfuls’ Food Rescue Coordinators) manifested a whole box of cherries from which we planned to make a “Cherry Garcia” flavored birthday cake!

I was introduced to Lovin Spoonfuls in December of 2020 through a dear friend, Chris Malloy, when he began a Christmas campaign raising over $68,000 to support local nonprofit organizations, including Lovin’ Spoonfuls. In looking further into the organization, I fell in love with the philosophy of rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste and partnering up with facilities to provide nutritional food choices to those in need.   
 
I have been in education for over 20 years and have witnessed first-hand children not having access to nutritional food choices outside of school. I learned that Lovin’ Spoonfuls supports after-school programs, educates communities on the importance of healthy food choices for everyone, and makes it a priority to spread the word about the significance of limiting food waste. I hope that through my campaign, I will increase awareness in schools and build a solid nutritional foundation for our youngest community members.

My training has gone very well! I am approaching this training from a holistic perspective. I run three shorter runs during the week combined with speed and hill work, then a long run and building on the weekend. I strength train, see my physical therapist on off days, and do mobility work.  
 
I have been running for many years, and during 2020, I began running ultra-trail runs, with my biggest goal of 100 miles completed in May of 2021. However, having the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon last October and now this April is like living two-lifetime dreams back-to-back!

I live out in the western part of the state and have fallen in love with trail running through the Berkshires. Fall running is beautiful out here!

Vegetables are a large source of my family’s diet and I often buy in bulk, but sometimes life gets busy, and it begins to age before we can use them. Instead of throwing them away, I will roast all of the vegetables and freeze them to use in a soup stalk at a later date. Definitely very helpful during cold New England months.

I’m friendly with Spoonfuls’ Founder u0026 Executive Director, Ashley Stanley, and have worked with Spoonfuls in the past through my restaurant, Buttercup. Last fall, I took part in Spoonfuls’ virtual Chef-a-Thon series, and hosted an open house for Spoonfuls’ supporters in Metrowest at Buttercup. When I heard there were Marathon bibs available, I jumped at the opportunity to work with and fundraise for Spoonfuls again! Food waste is a massive issue for the people and the planet, but a highly preventable one. While I can control food waste in my restaurant, I appreciate Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ work that ensures good food at grocery stores and farms gets to people facing food insecurity rather than sent to a landfill.

Training is going well. Thankfully, I’m familiar with the process! I ran the Boston Marathon 2015 – 2018, the virtual Boston Marathon in 2020, and the Chicago Marathon in 2021. It can be challenging to get in all the training while balancing the restaurant, farm, and kids, but working in long Sunday runs has been helpful.
 
I’m also committed to an Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid this fall, so training for this run is a springboard for that training!

I like the area by Buttercup because it’s on the official Boston Marathon route and makes me feel connected to the run. It will be familiar come April! My favorite part goes through Natick and Wellesley, where there is always a herd of cows on Pond Road. It’s a part of my routine to run past them and give them a wave “hello!”

We try not to waste anything at Buttercup. All our vegetable scraps are composted at my farm, Sunwashed Farm, and set aside for the chickens. They’ll gladly eat it, and then their poop will carry the remaining nutrients into the soil and garden which will grow new food. There’s virtually no waste at all. It’s great for the climate, the farmer, and the chickens. Everybody is happy.