On starting somewhere, finding purpose in movement, and making something meaningful out of the miles ahead.
At the beginning of this year, I couldn’t run a mile.
Not a fast mile. Not a comfortable mile. Just one mile without stopping.
I remember what it felt like to be a beginner. To look at people running marathons, competing in triathlons, and casually talking about distances I couldn’t imagine covering. I admired them, but I also wondered how someone like me was supposed to get from where I was to where they were.
The fitness world can make starting feel surprisingly complicated. There are training plans, expensive watches, heart rate zones, nutrition strategies, and a thousand opinions about the right way to do things.
But none of those things mattered as much as simply beginning.
And that’s where my story starts.
More Than a Finish Line
My relationship with fitness has changed considerably over the years. I’ve lost weight, rebuilt habits, learned to appreciate what my body can do, and discovered a love for endurance sports that I never expected.
What began with trying to run a mile has grown into training for races, exploring triathlon, and challenging myself in ways that once felt completely out of reach.
I’m still learning.
I’m figuring out how to train properly, how to fuel my body, how to balance ambition with recovery, and how to navigate the inevitable setbacks that come with trying something new.
Some days I feel strong. Other days, the same workout feels twice as hard.
And I think that’s worth talking about.
Because so much of what we see in fitness is the finished product. The race medal. The personal record. The perfect training session.
We see far less of the ordinary days that make those moments possible.
Why the Miles Matter
There’s another reason movement has become so meaningful to me.
In 2021, I lost my cousin Carisma to osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She was just 13 years old.
Losing her changed how I think about time, opportunity, and the things we often take for granted.
There are so many ordinary experiences we assume we’ll always have time for. Growing older. Discovering new passions. Making plans for another year.
Carisma deserved more of those experiences.
I think about that when I’m training, particularly on the days when showing up feels difficult.
Being able to move, to challenge ourselves, and to work toward something in the future is a privilege. Not everyone gets that opportunity.
That doesn’t mean every workout needs to be profound. Sometimes a run is just a run. Sometimes it’s frustrating, uncomfortable, or completely unremarkable.
But there’s something meaningful about recognizing that these are miles we get to experience.
And when we connect those miles to causes that matter, they can become part of something much bigger than our own accomplishments.
Fundraising through endurance events has given me a way to honor Carisma’s memory while supporting organizations and communities doing important work.
It’s also become a central part of why I wanted to create this space.
What Is The Miles We Get?
The Miles We Get is a community built around movement, growth, and giving back.
It’s for the person wondering whether they can run their first mile. The person signing up for a race before they feel ready. The runner figuring out nutrition for the first time. The cyclist learning how to clip in. The aspiring triathlete trying to make sense of three sports at once.
And it’s for anyone who believes that pursuing personal goals and making a difference in someone else’s life don’t have to be separate things.
Here, I’ll share the real experience of becoming an endurance athlete, including:
- Training and racing: What I’m learning about running, cycling, swimming, strength, and preparing for endurance events.
- Wellness and recovery: Practical conversations about nutrition, rest, consistency, and building sustainable habits.
- The beginner experience: The questions, mistakes, lessons, and small discoveries that don’t always make it into traditional fitness content.
- Purpose-driven movement: Fundraising efforts, meaningful causes, and ways we can use our miles to support others.
- The community: Stories and experiences from people pursuing their own goals, wherever they’re starting.
I don’t want this to be a place where everyone needs to be faster, stronger, or more accomplished than they were yesterday.
I want it to be somewhere we can be ambitious without losing perspective. Somewhere progress is celebrated, but participation matters too.
The Miles Ahead
I don’t know exactly where this journey will take me.
There are races I want to finish, distances I want to conquer, and plenty of things I haven’t figured out yet.
But I know I want to keep learning, keep showing up, and keep finding ways to make the experience meaningful beyond myself.
That’s what I hope The Miles We Get becomes.
A place to share what we’re learning, encourage one another, and remember that there’s value in the journey long before we reach the finish line.
Whether you’re preparing for your first 5K, your tenth marathon, or you’re still trying to figure out where to begin, there’s room for you here.
We don’t all get the same number of miles. But we can decide what we do with the ones we get.
Welcome to The Miles We Get.
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