MOMS ON THE RUN

When the pandemic started and the world shut down in March 2020, St. Paul Moms on the Run member Libby Starling decided to start running one mile every day. It got her out of the house and gave her something to do until life returned to normal. More than 600 days later, she's still running. 

"Libby's motivation for this run streak is amazing," shares St. Paul Franchise Owner Alicia Waeffler. "Libby consistently shows up for our MOTR team and herself. She is an inspiration and we’re all so proud of her amazing accomplishment!"

Read more of Libby's story and learn why she is December's inspiring member. 

Last December, Woodbury Moms on the Mom member Andrea Hitzemann-Johnson suffered a grand mal seizure after a workout with her Moms on the Run team. She woke up in the hospital, only to later learn she had a brain tumor. All of this during a year of a pandemic, no less. It's stories like these that make us grateful for medical professionals and resources, strong bodies and family and friends. 

Andrea credits her friends on her Woodbury team for their support in keeping her physically and mentally strong — both on and off the trails. 

"As things started to get crazy with Covid and many of us couldn’t always be together as often," recalls Andrea, "it was always great to see my Woodbury MOTR team virtually or on a distanced run. Then I had a personal health situation and this group's support has been absolutely amazing in all things, and brings those smiles and strength back to your day."

Read on for our conversation with Andrea and learn why she's our inspiring member of the month. 

This past weekend, all Moms on the Run locations across the country planned to gather in one place — on the turquoise beaches of Clearwater, FL, for Run Clearwater. While the pandemic made that impossible, our substitute virtual run retreat — Beach Break Weekend — was undoubtedly a successful time of 'Fitness, Fun and Friendship.' 

We kicked off the weekend together online with Beach Running Bingo, lots of prizes and movie night featuring the documentary "Spirit of the Marathon," which chronicles the journey of six runners as they train for the Chicago Marathon. (We all agreed if you didn't have running a marathon as a goal, watching that will certainly make you want to do one!)

Saturday featured a day of awesome activities! We started with a warm-up and fun run via the Charge app, with Coaches Carrie Tollefson and Amy Magdalein in our ears talking us through a 40-min run or walk. You could watch how far your fellow runners ran and participate in a live chat via the app. Coach Carrie then led us through a boot camp and cool down. 

Four years ago, Karin Munksgaard, a member of Apple Valley (MN) Moms on the Run, chose to challenge herself with running — something she thought she could never do. Not only is it something she learned how to do, but it's helped her thrive with new friendships, confidence, motivation and, despite a pandemic, her first half marathon.

Read our conversation with Karin and learn why she's an inspiring member.