Hello friends and family and running community! Thank you for visiting my fundraising profile.

I am a humanitarian professional who has lived all over the world in many disaster and conflict zones. I am also a runner and a hiker and someone who cares deeply about the environment, our forests, and the animals that live in them. My journey with running has been fully dependent on where I was living. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bangladesh some of my fellow female volunteers would run with rocks in hand, or brass knuckles or mace. I realized I didn't have a thick enough skin to manage the risks and unwanted attention, so I exercised indoors. In India, I found a similar problem, where it wasn't safe both due to the risk of pollution as well as the risk of being attacked; I bought a treadmill. In Afghanistan, the wise woman who lived in the NGO compound where I resided in rural Ghor Province insisted on a treadmill being brough it before she would accept the role. I benefited from this when I took over for her as the emergency coordinator and this turned out to be the saving grace which kept me sane through some difficult, isolated months.

Still years later, I do not take for granted my ability to safely walk down the street or a trail in the woods. Some mornings when I step foot out of my apartment, especially on warmer days when I might be wearing shorts and a singlet, I can be so moved in appreciation that just a few blocks away there is a gorgeous park where I breathe fresh air and run in safety.

I am further grateful for every mile I run these days as I've recovered from surgery to donate a kidney to my dad almost a year ago. I had anticipated that I would run a marathon again in 2021 but this year has instead been about recuperating, recovering, and re-learning what my body needs from me in terms of physical activity, nutrition, and hydration - a humbling experience. I am hopeful to have the learning experience in 2022 that will be learning even more about my new body and what it needs through training for a marathon.

I am interested specifically in running the Berlin Marathon because during time living overseas, I met an excellent crew of German friends, including my dear friend Anja. So, in addition to many members of my 400+ Brooklyn-based running club, on which I sit on the board of directors, I will have my local support crew in Berlin as well. I strongly feel that running a marathon, while an individual event, is fully about the community with which one surrounds themselves both during training and on race day. I have found mine and they will be with me in Berlin.

It was only in joining the inspirational people of my running club, the Crown Heights Running Club, that I first dared to admit I might have it in me to run a marathon. In 2019 I completed the races in New York City that I'd need to run the NYC Marathon in 2020, only to have my entry deferred to 2021 when that race was cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic. I had both an exceptional training cycle as well as an unforgettable race day, smiling for hours through my 5-borough tour of this city I've come to love. I wanted to do it again.

I'll be honest - I had hoped my name would be drawn in the lottery; I did not anticipate fundraising. However, I am determined to run and I know about myself that I cannot fundraise for an NGO that I do not wholeheartedly believe in both their mission and how they operate, knowing way too much about the pitfalls of many NGOs! I have followed the work of World Wildlife Fund for a while now and have a deep respect for both the mission and the operations. I would be honored to contribute in a small way to funding the programs.