Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the Portland area. I spent my high school years in Vantucky.

How long have you been running?
I started running the summer before college: four years ago. I was
trying to get in shape for a long climbing trip to the Picket Range in
the North Cascades.

Do you do other sports? If so, what?
I do a lot of alpine rock climbing and also backcountry ski.  All of my summers over the last six years have included lots and lots of
climbing all over the country.  I just started playing basketball
again.  I play pick up basketball about twice a week.

What do you do for a living?
I work in a microbiology lab studying the process of transcription in archaea. Basically, I work in an academic research lab. Transcription is the process in which the information encoded by DNA is converted to functional or message containing RNA.  Archaea provide a simple model of the eukaryotic transcription process, which should allow us to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms driving this process.

Why did you join TRL?
I joined TRL the fall after I started running because I reluctantly discovered that I actually enjoyed distance running. A friend told me about the club and I lurked in the forums for a few weeks before showing up at the Fulton. I had a great time and the rest is history.

What are your running goals for this year?
I have been plagued by injury after injury this year so my first goal is to stay healthy. I want to get my weekly mileage back up into the 70s and just be able to enjoy running again. My racing goal of the year is to run some quality efforts in the TRL XC series this year.

What are some of your favorite places to run and why?
I love trails. The gorge is probably my favorite place to run near town, Larch Mountain and Angels Rest via Multnomah Falls are favorites.  Forest Park will always have a special place in my heart because it is where I first fell in love with running.

Can you share a memorable race experience?
Last year at the 2008 Beer Mile I finished runner-up. I remember on about lap 3 I was in the lead, trying to burp up some carbonation when a little bit of vomit came up.  I was running along the backstretch, with vomit in my mouth trying to decide if I should just go ahead and puke, which would basically be forfeiting, or try to swallow the vomit and keep going.  I swallowed the vomit and charged on ultimately getting out-kicked by Jeffrey Boyer.  I felt tough as nails afterwards.

You're one of the organizers for the cross-country season this fall. What made you sign up for the task?
I spent all of last year away from home on an internship and a climbing trip.  The last few weeks of the trip I was thinking about how great XC was going to be when I returned home in the fall. When I got home and heard the news about the demise of the Fit Right XC series I was truly heartbroken.  I ended up going to a few collegiate races, but they just were not the same as the old Fit Right series. After talking with Joe, Torrey and a few others we decided TRL could take it over.  Now it is coming along nicely and I am really starting to get excited.

Name three things you would bring with you to a deserted island.
One of those skype devices.  Watermelon seeds (I think I remember hearing watermelon grows well in sandy soil). Surfboard.