Meet Danielle Rivera

I am not a runner...or so I thought!

Just a bit of a background on my running experience:  I ran my first 10K about 4 years ago, ran the same one the following year.  In fall and winter of 2013, I had bunion surgery on both of my feet.  Although successful, it took many months of rehab and staying off of my feet.  In 2014 I needed a goal to get fit and decided to run my first half marathon. One turned into three, all while training on my own.  I thought, there would be no way that I can run another 13.1 miles after running the first, but here I am.  

I hired Ron in April of 2015 as he was a reference from a good friend.  I have to say that without his help, I wouldn't feel comfortable saying that I am ready to run 26.2 miles, and I am!  He put together a series of long and short runs and condition running regimes that have gotten me to where I am today.  I started this journey with the goal of finishing in 4:20, and am right there.  I ran a couple of half marathons this year as well, came in under 2 hours for one of them, a personal best!

I didn't expect this to be as mentally challenging as it is physically, but I have persevered.  Having this great city to run in has helped tremendously as well has having a few friends running it too.  I visited the new 606 Bloomingdale Trail and the new Northerly Island Park for some of my runs...I also made it to the most northern and southern parts of the lakefront trail, something I had never done on my own 2 feet before.

I am running to raise awareness for Diabetes as well, a disease that has affected my family personally.  I am inspired by those who have helped me raise over $2,000 for a great cause.

All in all I feel that at this point, I'll run the marathon and am confident I'll hit my goal.  I'll contribute my success to Ron's training program, my dedication, and the encouragement from family and friends.

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