About the Authors

Vickie Rance Leff

is the mother of two children, ages 12 and 14. After graduating from Ithaca College she got her Masters in Social Work from Simmons Collage in Boston.She began running as a way to handle the stress of working in oncology. She ran along the Charles River and completed (slowly) a few 5 and 10K races in her twenties and early thirties. After the birth of her second child at 39 she started running again to lose weight. Struggling to find the time to run while raising two young children she ran on and off for a few years. Finally, with the help of other mothers, and friends, she was able to integrate her love of running with being a full time mom. At 44 she ran her first marathon and won her age division (Camp Lejeune Marathon), completed the 2002 Chicago Marathon, the 2002 New York Marathon and the 2003 and 2005 Boston Marathon. She lives with her husband and two children in North Carolina.

Kristi Greene grew up in Texas. She earned a bachelor of art degree from the University of Texas in 1984 and went on to work in advertising for several years. In 1987 she began running to stay in shape. She quickly became addicted to the sport and started running almost daily, even up to the day before the birth of each of her children. Her son was born while she and her husband were living in France and her daughter was born a few years later in Cary, North Carolina.

In North Carolina she began working in outdoor experiential education when both of her kids were in school. She is most proud of the three high ropes courses she has built with her employer. During her fifteenth year of running she challenged herself to run a marathon before her fortieth birthday. Having run only a few races, she turned to friends and colleagues for training advice. She completed her first marathon in February of 2001, four months before she turned 40, winning her age division with a time of 3:52. She ran the 2002 Chicago Marathon and came in third in her age division at the Kiawah Marathon, South Carolina. She also completed the 2003 Boston Marathon. Her other interests include baking, rock climbing and reading. She lives in Texas with her husband, son and daughter.