Welcome to Lori Runs Boston!

I couldn't possibly be more excited to welcome you all to my Lori Runs Boston Blog. I've set up this blog as a way to keep everyone up-to-date on my Boston Marathon training and fundraising efforts as a member of Team Victory!  Some of you may know, that as a charity runner our goal - aside from running a marathon of course - is to raise money! As part of the agreement we sign, we must raise a minimum of $5,000 - so please, please, please make a donation to help support me and my charity!

Running the Boston Marathon is a dream for anyone who has ever laced up a pair of sneakers, but I feel even more fortunate to be logging those 26.2 miles as a charity runner for my amazing agency, Victory Programs.  Since it was founded in 1975, Victory Programs has expanded from a single recovery home for alcoholic veterans to 19 housing and health programs across Boston, Cambridge and Topsfield, Massachusetts.  Every year, Victory Programs helps more than 2,600 men, women and families struggling with homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS, get back on their feet and live healthy, productive lives.  I've had the honor of being an employee at Victory Programs for over two years and every day I sit at my desk, I feel so fortunate to work for such an amazing place.

I hope you'll support me and Victory Programs throughout this adventure by donating to my CrowdRise page and signing up for the Victory Programs monthly e-Newsletter.  I'll also be holding some special contests, raffles and events on this site to help me raise the $5,000 minimum required.

A Little About Me 

By day, you know I work for Victory Programs where I do all things communications related - run social media accounts, write our e-Newsletters, maintain our website and much, much more!  By night, however, I am a runner and a devoted cat mom to Yoda (left) and Pinkerton (right)...aren't they so cute?!

I started running on a whim on an October morning in 2013 and was hooked right away.  I ran my first race on Thanksgiving morning - a 4 mile jaunt that had me totally exhausted.  Since then I've participated in 13 other organized races, including the BAA 10k in June and BAA Half Marathon in October.  It's funny, when I signed up for the 10k, I thought "How am I ever going to run SIX MILES!?," but I worked hard and finished in just under an hour.  Then, I signed up for the half marathon and thought, "Oh my goodness...what have I gotten myself into!?," but again - I had a plan, I trained hard and I finished in 2:04:21.

My first Half Marathon

I am a pretty thoughtful person - not a daredevil or particularly spontaneous.  I don't take a lot of risks or make quick decisions. I am, in a way, a little boring. Running is my way of throwing caution to the wind and putting myself in the uncomfortable position of having to go way outside of my comfort zone to accomplish what seems impossible.  So far, I've managed to tackle the challenges I've set forth for myself and I cannot wait to take on this new adventure.

Keep following me here for the good, the bad, the ugly and the hopefully humorous adventures of an every day nonprofit employee as I train for the country's oldest and most historic race. We're all in this together!