I've been a runner since about 7th grade. You know the famous quote "My Sport is Your Sports Punishment", well, that was true for me. I played 
every sport possible, volleyball, basketball, softball and even might mites football and the only running I did was for punishment. In college, I attended College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO, I played Volleyball, so running for punishment continued. After my freshman year, and experiencing the true freshman 15 is when I really got into running. At that time, it was running to loose weight & having the choice to eat whatever I want.
After college, I moved to Washington, D.C., and this is where I discovered my love for running. My first official running event was the Virginia Beach Marathon. That's right, I didn't start with a 5K or Half, I went straight to the Marathon. I finished in a little over 5 hours, but couldn't walk normal for a couple weeks. I freaking loved it! After that experience, I started participating in numerous 5Ks and 10Ks.
In 2007 when I met my husband and moved back to Missouri I quickly joined a local running group and got back into running. One Christmas, we went to my husband's friends house for a Christmas Party and this is where I met Ultra Runner Jason Bauer. As soon as CJ introduced us and found out we both were passionate about running, we talked the rest of the night. He had recently finished a 100 miler. I was so extremely jealous of him. Jason became my idol in a matter of minutes. I found out he runs a marathon every Thanksgiving morning. Of course I knew I had to start that too..umm..that's something I'm still trying to talk myself into doing. It's hard when you time an event every Thanksgiving morning. He went on to tell me about the 50 & 100 Milers he's completed. I was in awh. At that moment in time, I knew I had to become an Ultra Runner. Before this I had never considered running the Ultra distance. I had not ran more than a marathon, and I'd only did a few of those. The pride Jason had talking about Ultra's and what he told me he experienced mentally and physically...I WANTED THAT! Few people can understand that, but runner's do, and if you heard him speak (or any Ultra Runner) some would think they are crazy..talking about the "high" you get by accomplishing something only most can dream about doing or would never even dream of attempting.
After that Christmas night, I took my first step into becoming an Ultra Runner. Then it was onto the training..
If you're interested in getting into Ultra Running, check out the Soggy Bottom Running Weekend!