Everyone should email a short bio & photo to Rebekah at rmueller@CYCLEkids.org so we can all get to know each other! (As I receive them, I’ll put them up)
Karen Bagley I’m Karen Bagley and I’m thrilled to be running as part of the CYCLE Kids Boston marathon team. I live in Medford, MA but I grew up in southern Maine. I grew up dancing, not running, and when I first started running I stayed around 5 miles, that’s it! After watching the Boston Marathon in 2009 from the finish line I was inspired! I registered and ran my first half marathon in October 2009 and decided then to tackle a marathon… in May 2010 I completed the Providence Marathon in under 5 hours! Having the privilege to run the Boston Marathon is something I’m grateful for and to be part of the CYCLE Kids team is amazing. I recently joined the American Diabetes Association running a one-day cycling event on the North Shore – what a wonderful melding of my professional and personal life! Offering my support of CYCLE Kids and knowing the funds we raise will directly benefit children is motivation to run mile after mile in training for one of the most historic marathons! I graduated from Providence Collge and aside from running, I enjoy water and snow skiing, and dancing of course; I currently perform with the Boston Blazers Sparks Dance Team.
Erik Buckland I’m Erik Buckland and am extremely excited to be running with the CYCLE Kids Boston Marathon team. I’m 41, and live in Toronto, Canada. As I was approaching my 40th birthday in January 2009, I decided to run one marathon without having any previous running experience. I began training that cold January for the New York Marathon, running in my snowsuit with a running club. I have thus far managed to train for and complete three of the five major world marathons, London, New York and Chicago. I have also dropped wearing the snowsuit. What makes Boston so special, besides the fact that my sister and her family live in Boston, is the invitation to complete my fourth of the five major world marathons in support of CYCLE Kids. As a Canadian who volunteers with incarcerated youth, I understand and support CYCLE Kids ambition to provide alternative life choices in young lives. CYCLE Kids provides a chance for youth to pursue a healthy lifestyle and a sense of adventure by doing something they didn’t think possible. I certainly didn’t think running marathons around the world was a possibility two years ago. By being invited to support CYCLE Kids, I too am supported in a healthy lifestyle choice and a sense of adventure as I continue my quest to complete all five major world marathons. I look forward to seeing everyone on the team in Boston!
Jodi Bump Hi. My name is Jodi Bump but I have only been a Bump for 10 years…ha ha! I am married and have 2 amazing children, Hannah (age 8 ) and Tyler (age 6) who love to ride their bikes. I live in Huntsville, Alabama. Yes, I am a native Alabamian although I diverted to South Bend, Indiana for college then Minneapolis for 8 additional years before I realized that it’s much more difficult to ride and run in cold weather. I am a Registered Nurse and spent the bulk of my bedside years as an oncology nurse. Talk about humbling and inspiring! When we moved ‘home’ to Alabama in 2005 I transitioned to the ‘dark side’ (ha!) and now sell medical devices for Philips, Inc. Most of my time is spent with researchers in the areas of physical activity, obesity and sleep. My passion for health & nutrition, children, and endurance sports led me to the inspiration to run the Boston Marathon for something greater than my own personal physical and mental benefit. I was immediately drawn to CYCLE Kids due to the focus of their mission. I am excited and motivated to raise as much money as possible for this amazing organization. I have run 7 marathons (and countless shorter races) since I started running in Spring 2005 and got my BQ time at the Pocono Marathon in May 2010. My most recent marathon was the run portion of the Florida Ironman on November 6th. My favorite endurance sport is definitely long course triathlons, and I am participating in the inaugural Texas Ironman in May 2011. I humbly admit that I have certainly taken for granted the physical and financial ability to participate in these events. I decided to change that by running Boston for a good greater, and much more meaningful, than my own benefit! I sincerely thank the wonderful people at CYCLE Kids to accept me as a team member for their 2011 Boston Marathon fundraising team.
Stewart Ellis I always enjoyed riding my bike when I was growing up but it didn’t develop into a passion until I got some organized instruction as part of the Harvard University Cycling Association. I joined in my first year of business school and held the Poobah position in 2004. It was during this time that I got to know Julie Idlet and saw her beginning to build CYCLE Kids into what it is today. While cycling was my first foray into endurance sports, when I moved to California after graduation I quickly added a few more: swimming, running, and parenting. The comparatively mild climate helps make both swimming and biking more comfortable year-round, and all the practice I get chasing after small children has definitely made me a more complete runner. I’ve focused more on running recently and am excited tackle the challenge of the Boston Marathon with the CYCLE Kids team. When I’m not running, I head up finance at 23andMe, a Silicon Valley based company that is working to help individuals understand their genetic information and to accelerate the path to personalized medicine.
Adriane Gennette My name is Adriane Genette, and I have been happily married for almost six years to the man I met my second year of college. We currently live in Providence, RI where we are pursuing our PhD’s in English Literature. I am in my fifth year at Brown, and he is in his second year at the University of Rhode Island. We are both from Colorado, so we grew up loving sports and the outdoors. I started running relatively late — I ran my first race, the Steamboat Springs Marathon, the week before my wedding in June of 2005. I have since run Chicago, Marine Corps (2), Boston (5), New York, and Philly. I now have a brand-spanking-new PR of 3:12:58! I also love to cross train, and I teach spinning at the East Side Providence YMCA. In my spare time, I teach Introduction to Literature with Westwood College Online. I came across CYCLE Kids while doing some preliminary research into careers in the non-profit sector that focused on fitness. I am excited to work with an organization so committed to bringing healthy lifestyles to people in need. I have also never run for charity and am looking forward to being part of a team. I can’t wait to meet everyone!
Jim Mydosh I’ve been biking since I was a kid, which was back in the day before parents drove their kids everywhere. If you wanted to get somewhere, you mostly had two choices, walk or ride your bicycle. I took up competitive bicycle racing in my teen years during the 1970’s bicycle boom. I worked in bicycle shops during my school years and my first job out of grad school was with the Cannondale Corporation. I’ve been a runner most of my life, but only took up long distance running in 2008. I qualified for Boston on my third marathon at Baystate in 2009. I ran Boston in 2010 with a time of 3:35:38. My goal for 2011 is a sub 3:30. I am a USATF registered runner affiliated with the Milford Road Runners club in Connecticut. I live in Derby, CT with my wife Eileen, and two daughters, Kayleigh, 14; and Jennifer, 12. I am the Business Manager for the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. I’m thrilled to be part of the CYCLE Kids team and look forward to contributing to this fine cause.
Jennifer Neff I’m Jennifer Neff and I’m thrilled to be a part of the CYCLE Kids Boston Marathon team! I am from New York City, but am currently living in Cambridge and attending Harvard Business School. Sports have always been a huge part of my life—I played three sports in high school before walking onto the squash team at Brown University. I began running in college with my roommate mainly to cross-train for squash and quickly grew to love it. This will be my first marathon, and I am so honored to be affiliated with an organization that exposes children to the discipline and teamwork of sports.
David Nierenberg I'm David Nierenberg and am very excited to be running with the Cycle Kids team. I suppose I have always been a runner, but like many others, discovered cycling as a sport sometime after my childhood training wheels and before finishing college. When I was in Boston for graduate school looking for a way to stay in shape and have some kind of competition with team unity, I found the Harvard University Cycling Association and was immediately hooked. Like Stewart, being on the team is how I first met Julie and the incredible organization she was putting together. I think it is a testament to Julie's generosity and philanthropy that has made many of us want to come back and help her raise money and awareness for this important cause. I intended on running the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February 2010 to qualify for Boston, but a snow storm caused the race to be cancelled (that's right, a snow storm...on the beach - a missed opportunity if you ask me). Luckily, I was able to race the Atlanta marathon a month later - and Atlanta is much hillier than I would have wagered! I currently live in North Carolina training in the flatest part of tobacco country of the state. I hope to make it up to Boston before the race to meet some other folks on the team and go for a run along the Charles.
Jen Ziskin I live in Needham with my husband, 3 boys and a dog and we own a restaurant in Brookline called La Morra. Life is certainly busy for us between running a restaurant and raising 3 active boys, ages 7, 9 and 11. I have always been active, mostly playing sports such as soccer and lacrosse, but I developed a love for running after my second son was born. I realized it was the only way I could stay fit and have time to talk with my friends. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2008 for The Greater Boston Food Bank and wanted to run it at least one more time. The last time I ran, I did not start training until mid-January, so I felt I missed out a bit on being fully prepared. I was really intrigued by running for CYCLE Kids, because my husband and I just began a partnership with DuVine Cycling Adventures where we help plan and lead biking tours in Italy. We had people as old as 75 on our last trip, so I feel creating a passion for cycling for children is an incredible gift to give them.
