​I hadn’t planned on running the half at the final Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon & Half Marathon because I was also directing the race, but wow am I glad I did! I loved making runners (and strangers on the trail) smile with my silly Coney costume and appreciated hearing participants and volunteers say thank you for putting on a great event. This was the 11th race so you’d think by now it would have been routine and relatively stress-free, but because of my anxiety disorder it never got any easier to pull it off. In fact, I think this year was the most difficult because I had put so much pressure on myself to make it the best yet. In October, at nearly the last minute, I made the decision to end it on my own terms. The fact that weeks later I finally received closure in another ongoing event that in many ways was intricately linked to this race made me realize I totally made the right call. I want to start 2024 focusing on new adventures that both challenge me and help me grow. Thanks to all the volunteers and runners who made this year’s race the most special one ever! A lot of times when I race, I force a fake smile for the cameras. On Sunday Natalie Brinton Krovetz captured my pure joy at having achieved what I set out to do with this race back in 2014. I’m so grateful for the experience of being a race director for my own event and can’t wait to finally find a way to tell the story of what this race has meant to me over the past 10 years now that it’s really over.

Special shout out to Ryan Ross, Nicole Brimer, Ellen Houle, Becky Keller, Tommy Safranek, Ragged Mountain Running Shop, Rivanna Trails Foundation, and everyone else who isn’t easily tagged on Facebook. 🙂 Oh and most importantly my other half Malinda Ann Hill 👯TWINS RUN in our family.💕

I was 43 when I created this event in 2014. When the race is finished I look forward to finally working on a short film or multimedia piece about this quirky little event! It’s been a labor of love for 10 years.

Thanks to Ellen Houle, Nicole Brimer, Tracey Lynn, Ryan Ross, and Diane Curtis who were there at the very beginning! It’s been a special journey with memories I’ll cherish. 🥰

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For 14 years, I helped the Charlottesville Track Club (CTC) with graphic and web design, marketing, and event management. For 13 years, I supported five race directors (Alice Wiggins, Mike Inge, Maria Bell, Deb Gilbert, and Nicole Brimer) with the Charlottesville Ten Miler (CTM). I’m grateful and honored to have worked closely with people who valued my ideas, creativity, dedication, passion, and time.

There aren’t enough words to describe how much it meant to me to see my “Twins Run in Our Family” logo on the backs of fellow runners as I ran this iconic race. I loved seeing the new CTC logo I designed (last year) at the top of the shirt, too!

I’ve been struggling emotionally and financially since I lost my job of 22+ years in September 2020. During the 50+ interviews I’ve had since turning 50, I've always spoken about my volunteer work in the Charlottesville running community as my proudest accomplishment. 

During COVID-19 I devoted my time and talents to help Mark Lorenzoni promote the Charlottesville Track Club’s modified events during the pandemic and I especially enjoyed marketing and managing the C-VILLE-athon, Race Fest, Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program, Winter Training Program, the All-Comers Summer Track Meets, and Bruce Barnes Mile. 

During this time a conflict arose between me and various CTC board members. Unfortunately, in spite of my best efforts, this conflict could not be resolved. Therefore, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away from the CTC in September 2021. 

Although I had to separate myself from the CTC, I knew I wanted to help CTM race director, Nicole Brimer, with the 2022 Charlottesville Ten Miler. It was very important for me to end my tenure with the CTC on a high note. So, I made a variety of new designs for a special bib, stickers, and volunteer shirt as well other logos that I never got to use. 

I wore my rainbow sparkle skirt and formerly white running shoes that I colored with a rainbow of sharpies. So many spectators and fellow runners complimented me on my tutu and I appreciated the encouragement as I was rather untrained for this endeavor! 

The best part of the race was seeing my identical twin sister cheering in her inflatable T-Rex costume at mile 4 and the finish line. Being able to finally share this historic event with her made a difficult day of saying goodbye to this race a bit easier. 

Thank you to Nicole for allowing me do what I love and including me as a valuable contributor to this spring tradition in Charlottesville.

I'm not sure who will be the next director for the Charlottesville Ten Miler and what changes will be made under new leadership. I know that my twin and I will always smile when we see someone wearing a shirt from one of the years I helped support the race, especially the shirts with my designs (2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020/21, and 2022).

All the right songs came up at the right moment .....
​https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/final-ten-miler/pl.u-b3b8oGGHyMLRGd

When I talk about my volunteer work with the Charlottesville Track Club during interviews, I always explain that I will never criticize something unless I’m willing to try to fix it or improve it. That’s how I started with the Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program. I saw the way people signed up (on paper!) and it didn’t seem to be ideal. I made suggestions to help modernize registration and disseminate information on a website and social media. On May 23 we have our orientation meeting for the program I’ve helped coordinate for over 13 years and I can’t wait to keep making it better with each edition.

Asking for help has been really hard for me. I don’t have a lot of memories about my time at the Child Guidance Center in Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital, when I suffered from Anorexia Nervosa, but the one that clearly stands out is when I couldn’t ask for a tissue. I don’t know why I was crying, but I remember the counselor offering me a tissue and then questioning why I couldn’t ask for one myself when I clearly needed it. That sticks with me almost 40 years later … that I could have tears and snot all over my face and still not ask for help.

I’m trying very hard to change this hesitancy of mine. It’s not that I think it’s weak to ask for help; I don’t. It’s just that sometimes I feel like I don’t want to bother people or I think maybe I don’t deserve help or kindness because there are so many people with greater needs than mine. Or, I fear rejection when someone doesn’t respond in the way I’d hope for.
I’m learning that it’s worth the risk to put yourself out there and ask for something that someone might enthusiastically give you. That’s why I recently sent out an email with the subject line, “I need your help.” I didn’t want to hide the fact that my twin sister and I had been struggling with some big changes over the past year and we wanted our 50th birthday to be special and memorable. A photo from a friend could be the one bright spot in an otherwise challenging day. No one can read my mind so I need to tell people how meaningful it would be get that picture. And guess what? It’s working! We’ve already received adorable and beautiful photos of our “Flat Twins” and I can’t wait to see more.