Runner’s World+ Member: Jeff Boettler
Jeff is a Runner’s World+ member. Join him and thousands of others chasing their goals with day-by-day training plans, expert advice from editors and coaches, and unlimited digital access. We regularly feature members online and in print!
Running has boosted my self-esteem. I was the nerd in high-school on the chess team and played video games for many years. I started running 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until I got dragged into doing a 5-mile Spartan race that things turned around for me. I rarely ran over three miles, but in the fall of last year I completed my first half marathon coming in second in my age group. I never thought I would be this athletic.
I subscribed to RW magazine for several years before RW+. I really enjoyed all the performance improvement articles. When the magazine changed, I was a bit bummed, but then I saw that all of my favorite type of articles were now online. So now instead of tearing them out of the magazine, I make a bookmark of the ones I like.
Running gives me a sense of accomplishment for the day or week. I love listening to my uplifting music and moving to the beat. It gives me energy for the day.
Half my runs are just around the neighborhood. I have a mapped out courses from 3.1 miles up to 10 miles. I also frequent the trails nearby which include the MTS (Mountain-to-Sea) trail and Umstead Park here in Raleigh.
I have to wear my running-on-clouds Hoka Bondi shoes due to a sensitive achilles tendon. I also love my new Garmin music watch and Aftershokz combo. I finally gave up the old iPod.
I’m still a nerd at heart. I am now into strategy board games at night when I’m not working out.
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