About

Hello, everyone!  Welcome to Vagabond Running!

About Vagabond Running

Increasingly, we are living in a blogging era.  With millions of blogs on the web, it can be a bit overwhelming to find both great blogs to follow and to start a new blog.  When starting a blog, the two most important questions an author should ask are, “What is the purpose of my blog?” and “What is my blog’s niche?” So, I’ll try to explain the purpose and niche of Vagabond Running.

Throughout late-2011 to the present, I have become a much more focused runner, losing about 30 pounds over a period of 8 months and increasing my weekly mileage from about 8 treadmill miles per week to 30-35 mountain miles per week.  I plan to increase my mileage more as I begin to train for ultramarathons.  Throughout the aforementioned time period, I have been extremely encouraged by and inspired by a number of blogs and podcasts, which I will review in the near future.  Through some of these blogs and podcasts, I went from running in a traditional running shoe with poor form to running exclusively in minimalist shoes with proper form.  If you are more interested about my journal to minimalism, please head over to the University of New Mexico Biology Blog page to read my story: Re-Learning How To Run.

So, you inevitably ask, why start a blog?

The purpose of this blog is simple: to paint a portrait of the life of an extremely busy individual who trains for ultramarathons in his free time.  I’m not an elite runner by any means.  In fact, I would consider myself, at this point, to be at the back end of the middle of the pack.   I want to show that it is possible to achieve one’s running goals amidst a busy schedule, and I want to demonstrate what it is like to do it.  Along the way, I’ll review the shoes, the gear, and the food that I use, too.  Concomitantly, I’ll give updates on my training progress, and I’ll write race reports for any races I enter.  Furthermore, I’ll have miscellaneous posts that deal with the difficulties of maintaining a running schedule in graduate school to opinions of upcoming races from around the world to my journey through life seen through the eyes of running.  In this regard, the niche of my blog is most likely recreational / running, as well as for those that love a good story along the way.

Finally, why Vagabond Running?  To put it briefly, (a) I don't really consider any place to be a permanent home and (b) this blog is about running. :-)

About Me

My name is Joshua, and I’m a graduate student at Boston University School of Theology (M.Div ’15).  Prior to attending graduate school, I completed degrees in cultural anthropology (BA ’10) and biology and chemistry (BA ’12) at University of New Mexico.  I’ve worked as a chemistry teaching assistant, an honors program student teacher, a co-teacher for an honors program class I created, a student researcher in an evolutionary and theoretical immunology lab, an intern project coordinator at a CDC research facility, a research assistant in community health at a department in a medical school, etc.  From the time I was little, I was actively involved in sports.  I played recreational and traveling indoor and outdoor soccer for about ten years, competed as a gymnast at state competitions, and participated in wrestling.  I like reading, movies, Doctor Who, long walks on the… you get the picture: I’m a busy student and I love to be active.

Disclaimer

I'm a blogger; I am not a physician, physical therapist, nutritionist, etc.  I'm a graduate student in theology, so do not, under any circumstance, consider the opinions on this blog as medical advice.  Consult your physician before trying anything new.

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