A Marathon of Work, Joy, and Creativity — Runners Love Yoga

Running isn’t easy and neither is running a small business.

When I graduated with my Ph.D. in English in 2014, I was initially bound and determined to be an English professor. I love teaching, literature, and language. Lo and behold, the world had other plans, that actually are turning out to be better than Plan A!

Runners Love Yoga started in 2012. I had long been interested in teaching yoga to runners: I was so into my running-related stretching that my college coach put me in charge of leading pre-run team stretching during my senior year at Notre Dame. (I honestly think he thought I was just taking forever for my pre-run stretching every day, and so to speed me up and actually get everybody to stretch, he thought “let’s put Ann in charge of this.” I am still proud that we had fewer injuries that year!!!) I myself became hooked on yoga when pigeon pose saved my IT band during my own college running career. Fast forward to Charlottesville, VA in 2012: my best friend Louise wanted to be able to do yoga with me all the time, so I decided to make a yoga DVD for runners. During my spring break from grad school, I flew up to Boston where my friend Ingrid was finishing film school: she agreed to help film my first DVD! That same spring of 2012, I would meet my future husband Phillip who was already in the high end technical sportswear industry with his own small business, Cutaway USA. That would lead to the first batch of Runners Love Yoga singlets! (I actually think I can remember everyone who has one of the originals, in teal and red!)