I am a wife and mother to 6 kids, ranging in ages 9 down to 4 months.
I created this blog so I could write about running, which is one thing thing that defines me as, well …. me.
I began competitive racing when I was 11, specializing in the 100M dash. I had no intentions of running long distances, and only ran cross country as a way to keep in shape. I ended up getting a D1 scholarship to run the 800 M, for Southern Utah University.
It wasn’t until after college and really after having my 3rd child that I discovered my love for the longer distances.
I have since run 5 marathons, with a personal best time of 2:54.04, countless (when I say countless, it is because I don’t feel like counting) halves, with a personal best time of 1:9.58.
More than this, I have discovered a passion for thinking, which has quickly turned into journaling and writing. I have been so blessed to be able to become a regular columnist for The Spectrum, Deseret News and ksl.com, writing about running, fitness, family and whatever my heart desires.
Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome!
Ari
Time to 'fit' it in 
Thank you for your recent story on KSL.com about modesty. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments. You asked the most perfect question at the end. May I say that, also being a member of a faith that puts a lot of emphasis on modesty, I have struggled with this issue as well. My thoughts? We are not teaching our children the correct way to deal with sensitive social issues – modesty being one of them. I understand teaching our children about values. It is important. But it is just important to teach our children to VALUE others. That is my answer. We all have our own opinions, limits, feelings of what we deem appropriate. And even if many of us do belong to the same religion or have the same values, we all still interpret those values in our own way. So lets teach our children why people are different and that we need to embrace our differences. We need to make sure we choose values thatvwecare comfortable with, yet remember to make others feel comfortable around us. Just my two cents.
Tia,
Thank you for your note and advice. I really want my kids to have good moral standards and to be modest in their dress. More importantly, I want them to love others, regardless of the choices they make, be it the way they dress, the words they choose to say, etc. It is a hard line to walk, but I hope my husband and I being aware of it, will help to foster this type of learning.
Thanks, again for your comment 🙂
Ari–
I read your article on grieving this morning on KSL. It is something you definitely understand and I’m sorry for the loss of your sister. A few months ago in your article on infertility (or the challenges of fertility)–you said you didn’t know anything about infertility. But you do! Infertility is grief by another name. As an “infertile” I read your article this morning and related it to my life and not being able to conceive or have children. It is a HUGE loss. Everything you mentioned applied to my life and grieving–the heartache, the holidays, the anniversaries, etc. Every emotion you have felt in losing your sister–I have felt in losing my ability to bear children. I just wanted to make you aware that you do understand infertility as it relates to grieving. In fact–you relate to anyone who is experiencing grief–even if it doesn’t involve death. Thanks for sharing. — K.F.
Thank you, Katie. I have felt so bad for so long about that infertility article. Every other article I have written, I have been fine with, whether or not it was well-received. But, that one has eaten at me ever since, and I wish I could do something to make it right.
About a year ago, after my miscarriage, I was looking online at blogs … anything for comfort or support, because I didn’t have anyone in my immediate family who had experienced this. I came across a blog, where a lady was writing letters to her baby. I looked at her profile picture, and noticed that she was holding a baby. I thought for sure that she had given birth to a stillborn baby.
I sent her a message, thanking her for her comforting words, and then proceeded to tell her that I had a similar situation (referring to my miscarriage).
She wrote me back and told me that she had just given her child up for adoption.
Although she was grieving a different loss, her feelings mirrored mine so much so, that I thought we were grieving over the same thing.
You are right in that I do understand … we all understand. Grief is something nobody is immune from.
Thank you, again for sharing. And, again, I apologize for anything I may have said in that article that sounded insensitive. I assure you, I didn’t mean to.
Hey! I have a quick question about your blog. Would you mind firing me an email when you get a moment?
Sure, what is your question? I don’t have your email address …
Six kids – impressive! How do you find time to run?! 🙂
Thanks! I just make it a priority. I also have a very supportive husband who also runs. We work it out :).