At one point or another, I ask myself how did I get here -- being a road and trail runner. As if I haven't told this story enough, my adventure started off as a fight to save my own life in 2013. I thought weight loss was the only way that I could do that and at first it wasn't a terrible thing. After all, it led me to running. My mindset shifted once I lost track of why I was doing it. My obsession with the scale stemmed from outside noise and the perception of what a "real athlete" should look like. I allowed the advice from a friend to lead me down a vicious eating disorder. In April 2015, I had a wake up call while in ER that changed my entire perspective. I asked myself again: How did I get here? In turn, I decided to rewrite my own story by using fitness as my muse to feel powerful. Changing my own language and narrative afforded me the opportunity to become an athlete that I never thought I'd be or frequently saw in the media. Through running, I became my own superhero. Nobody can tell me that I'm not small enough, fast enough, strong enough or able bodied enough to be taken seriously. Redefining my personal definition of being an athlete allows me help others see the warrior within themselves. So what's your story? How did you get here? Support the #EveryBodyEveryAthlete movement with your own post and check out all of the Body+ episodes now live on olympicchannel.com (link in bio) (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Xs682Hym5/?igshid=5tnpkrr7nbie
