Meghan is a Runner’s World+ member. Join her and thousands of others chasing their goals with day-by-day training plans, expert advice from editors and coaches, and unlimited digital access. We regularly feature members online and in print.
I’ve been running since middle school, and through the years running has had many different impacts on my life based on where I’m at personally. I think that is one of the coolest things about being a life-long runner—you will always learn new things if you’re open to it. Right now, it’s helping to give me a huge confidence boost and find myself again in the midst of the pandemic and so many life changes. I’m recovering from an injury that left me pretty depleted, but as I get stronger and am able to add mileage, I’m back to feeling invincible. This confidence has helped me professionally as well and helps give me clarity with decision making and being able to stand up for myself when I need to. Running also constantly helps me re-learn how to love my body for what it can do and not what it looks like—and I feel like the possibilities for growth are endless!
I love being outdoors, and it’s a way for me to unplug from the chaos of regular life and feel the freedom to think and dream.
I run on the ancestral homelands of the Osage, Caddo and Sioux, and just a few miles from the Cherokee Nation, my tribe’s current home. There are some mountain biking trails tucked back in the woods in our town that are lightly trafficked, so I usually have them all to myself on a morning run. A group of deer also lives on those trails and I get to greet them each time I run, which is a reminder of how our land is shared space and we need to give respect and take care of the planet.
I’m currently loving my Hoka One One Torrent 2 trail shoes—they feel way less bulky than other trail shoes I’ve had but are still really protective and grippy. Plus, they’re colorful and cute!
In case you see tears streaming down my face, it’s not that I’m crying (well maybe I am) but I was in a snowboarding accident a few years back and had to get stitches around my eye and now it just involuntarily waters all the time.
I want to still be running in my 90s—and along the way I want to get to know other runners, and share experiences, stories, and training tips. Community is really important to me.
Meet More West South Central Members
Caroline’s enthusiasm for enriching the run community originates from engaging with her local run specialty store customers, where she still works part-time. As a professional hobby jogger, she loves exchanging training stories and hearing from RW+ members about their race victories.
