Meet the Member: Mag Mile Runner

I’m Maggie, the blogger behind Mag Mile Runner. My blog posts are mostly about running and fitness – my weekly workout log and reflections, race recaps, training tips, and reviews of fitness studios, products and apparel.

When did you start blogging and what inspired you to start you blog?

I started blogging before there were blogs. I learned HTML back in high school and enjoyed it so much that I created my own websites in my free time. This was back in the late 1990s. I would post my angsty teen poetry to my website, and eventually started writing basically a diary on the site, with a date log and everything. When I discovered LiveJournal, my mind was blown – it did all the coding for me! I was a pretty die hard LiveJournal user and posted so much personal stuff, it’s pretty embarrassing in hindsight. Eventually people stopped using LiveJournal, so I stopped posting (and switched all my old content to private).  Then I discovered Blogger, and start posting there, at first sharing my experience as a Navy wife, when my husband was off at bootcamp. Then I signed up for a half marathon on a whim and started posting about my experience training. I fell in love with running and connected with other running bloggers, and that became the focus of my blog. Eventually I migrated to WordPress, but I still mostly post about running (and fitness).  

What is your favorite blog post that you have written?

My favorite posts are my race recaps. I love going back and revisiting the experiences of every race I’ve run! My first half marathon, my half marathon PR, my first full marathon, the Ragnar Relay, my first Spartan Race, my first race after returning from runner’s knee, and every race in between (I’ve done over 60). Not only is it fun to revisit the experiences, but it’s a good way to jog my memory and remember things I forgot about my performance or training.  

What do you love about blogging?

I love connecting with other bloggers and reading their experiences. I’ll probably never do an Iron Man, or a any triathlon, but I love reading the experiences of my friends who have done one. Although never say never, I also never thought I’d run a full marathon or do a Spartan Race, and after reading the experiences of my friends who are “just like me” in terms of athleticism and amount of free time, I realized if they could do it, I could too. So, I like that reading about other people’s experiences have encouraged me to try things I didn’t think I could do.  

What are some brands that you have worked with, or some brands that you would love to work with?

I’ve partnered with Nike a few times, and it’s always been a fantastic experience every time! Nike really cares about delivering a great experience, much more than just selling product through influencers. I’ve also partnered with the Spartan Race, based on them reaching out to me, which is what gave me the push to go through with challenging myself to do a race. I’m glad I agreed to partner with them because I’ve learned what I’m truly physically capable of as a result.