Caroline first became involved with NBR when a friend invited her to Thursday Night Track in the summer of 2016; she officially joined in 2019. While I love the solo nature of running, I craved a community of spiritual warriors and beloved rivals to both support and spur me to greater heights. NBR also had an active women’s masters group, which I wanted to be a part of.

In what ways have you been involved with NBR?

I enjoy Thursday night track, beers at the Turkey's Nest, and LC long runs. I've also been known to help out with last-minute custom singlet design requests.

What do you do when you're not running?

I'm a mother to my 10 year-old daughter and work as an information designer.

How did you initially get into running?

I grew up around endurance athletes, so the concept of training and racing was always familiar to me. My older brother got into running/cycling/triathlons when these were nascent sports in the 80s. My father had just turned 50 at the time and he started running as well. He ended up racing Boston 11 times in the 1990s-2000s until he became obsessed with Ironmans. He's been slacking off a bit now that he's 88 but I hear he's planning a comeback.

I ran some track and cross country in high school, but wasn't really motivated then. I started running casually when I lived on the lower east side in the late 90s. I felt naked and defenseless on the streets with only my athletic clothes and apartment key on me, but the East River Park was nearby so I'd head there to run.

I moved across the East River to South 4th and Bedford in 2000 and started to expand my running routes. Back then there were no online maps - I remember triangulating the route for the Manhattan/Williamsburg bridge loop on a paper map. I didn't have a car or even a bike at the time, so my knowledge of outlying areas was extremely fuzzy - somewhat like those ancient maps that hint of unknown wilderness where one could possibly fall off of the edge of the earth or encounter a monster. This is when feral dogs roamed among the rotting admirals' houses of the Navy Yard, howling at you from the other side of the fence on Flushing Avenue, so this metaphor isn't too far off.

What is your favorite race distance?

It might be the half-marathon. It's got that nice mix of endurance plus speed. You finish feeling like you did something but without being totally decimated. My first road race was the Brooklyn Half in 2001 - back when it started on the Coney Island boardwalk and ended in Prospect Park. It's still one of my favorite races.

Best running memory?

I'm lucky to have many but the most recent may be traveling to Boston in September to run the last 20 miles of the marathon route with Alena Alasheeva and Sarah Trigg. I turned 50 that weekend, and found it funny to celebrate a milestone birthday by eating a healthy meal and getting a good night's sleep before running 20 miles the next day. I'm pretty sure we talked about running 95% of the time that weekend. I didn't know it was possible to geek out that hard as a jock, but those ladies sure showed me!

Favorite running route in NYC?

I do love the bridges - there is a satisfying feeling in crossing a body of water, but lately I am partial to the waterfront of south Brooklyn. I love running by the water, and it's such a treat to run on the piers in Dumbo and then down into Red Hook, where it's so tranquil and quiet.

Any running-related superstitions?

Never look behind in a race!

What has running taught you or changed about you?

I've learned it's hard to be a hedonist. It's fun to whoop it up and it's fun to be lazy and sleep in, but there's no better feeling than having made the effort to take care of yourself. Hard exercise has been shown to reduce your biological age by about 9 years. The body literally manufactures anti-depressants when you run. How fortunate we are to engage in something, for free, which yields a multitude of positive transformational benefits.

Favorite post-race food?

Orange Gatorade. I think they need to sponsor me.

Favorite song to run to make you want to run?

The Butthole Surfers' cover of "American Woman."

Favorite running social media account?

@edbrookline - This Instagram account is not strictly all running, but the photographer captures some great moments in local races.

What do you think is the worst part about being a runner?

You're always on the verge of getting injured - there's a real dance between stressing the body and allowing it to recover.

Best advice to running newbies?

Appreciate the minimal requirements of this activity which provides so much pleasure. We live in a time where one can be banned from many parts of the public sphere - including gyms and now races. But the streets will always have you, and there you will find pure freedom.

Current running goal?

Next race is a post-Christmas 5k in my hometown of Columbia, SC. Would love to work on speed for a bit and break 20 in the upcoming year.

Any other fun running facts about you?

I have found life has become much easier since I've embraced the fact that RUNNING IS ALL THAT MATTERS.