Hi there! I’m Ann (or Annie). I joined the marathon staff in 2010 as the expo coordinator. A few things about me: I live in Rockford (MI, not the IL one) with my husband, Chris, and our 5-year-old black lab, Gunnar. I grew up in the Chicagoland area, and I love the Cubs. I play guitar in a Pearl Jam/90’s cover band. I like expensive beer and cheap wine. I swear like a sailor and I love a good “That’s what she said” joke. I graduated from GVSU in ’00 with a major in Broadcasting/Journalism, so naturally I work for a homebuilder, though I was a volunteer programmer on 88.1 WYCE here in Grand Rapids for a few years. My hobbies include sailing, snowboarding, and watching all things Bravo (Tuesday night is always reserved for Below Deck and Taco Bell!). You might have figured out that I’m a bit of a smartass. I also love an Oxford Comma.   

You’ll notice I didn’t say running was one of my hobbies. My running “career” spanned from 2007 to 2013. Nothing “took me out” per se (though I did suffer a head injury/concussion in 2008); I’m just lazy, to be quite honest! All in all, I ran one Bix-7 in Davenport (my first race!), a number of 5Ks and 10Ks, a couple of Riverbank 25Ks, three half-marathons, and four full 26.2s. Fun fact: my first full was staged by myself and my husband on the White Pine Trail here in West Michigan because we had trained for Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth but we couldn’t make it. So although that list doesn’t scream “lazy,” trust me, I didn’t follow one training plan even close to a “T.” Every run was a struggle to muster up the motivation to get out the door. The last race I was signed up for was the 2014 Gazelle Girl half marathon (now called “She Runs”), which I definitely didn’t train for, and I decided to just sleep in instead. 

That said, I stick around here because we’ve got a kickass staff and I love seeing it all come together year after year. I love being at the expo on packet pickup day. I love feeling the excitement of the runners, whether they’re sporting their Boston jackets, or admitting they’re nervous because it’s their “first one.” But it’s the latter to whom I relate the most. I remember how intimidating it was when I reached the 3rd floor of the Y to pick up my packet in 2008 for my first half. I walked around the expo wondering if I even belonged there. I felt like someone would look at me and just KNOW that I was a newbie. I didn’t “look” like a runner (whatever that means), I probably didn’t have the right gear (again, whatever that means), and I’d never (still haven’t) run under a 10-minute mile in my life. I was definitely in my head big time, but I had put in just enough training and, armed with a carefully curated playlist, I had a great race! I still hear songs from my playlist and remember where I was on the course. (As an aside, “Danger Zone” was always the first song on all my running playlists. Top Gun is my favorite movie and that song always gets my adrenaline going). 

Well, now I know better, and that’s why I’m glad Don and company keep me around, even if the last time I laced up my running shoes was maybe once in the last decade. We love all our participants, from newbies to lifers. Every year we strive to make it the best one yet. Everyone behind the scenes has you, the participant, in mind–first and foremost, front and center. When we unload the truck at the Y on the Thursday night before race weekend and then head down the street for a beer, the excitement is palpable. When we gather for the post-race recap (and a beer) and read your reviews, the sense of pride and accomplishment never gets old.  

I don’t know that I’ll ever get bitten by the running bug again, but I’ll hang out here as long as they let me and continue to do the thing. Being on the staff side, as Don would say, is pretty (expletive deleted) cool.