About Bethany...

So I am hoping this is how to do the 'About Me'...I have never tried blogging before. :)

My name is Bethany Joy Isabell...by maiden name was Bethany Herman...so I went from one first name as a last name to another first name as a last name. Herman to Isabell. Stinks for the boys in the Isabell family...but oh well. :) I am 28 and now live in Doylestown, PA. I grew up in the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania. Growing up I was never really into running...I loved sports but was pretty terrible at all of them that I tried...but I had fun. And since I went to a small private Christian school I made every team I tried out for. :)

I went to Philadelphia University for Interior Design and graduated in 2003. It was actually in college that I started to run a bit. The school is in East Falls...so it was really convenient to go running along Kelly Drive...and so fun! I pretty much just ran when the weather was nice...wasn't super dedicated.

After college I moved back home for a bit and then moved into a house with two of my best friends, Sarah and Michelle. We often would go for runs all together and I started doing a route that Michelle showed me. (Michelle ran competetively in college and now is a track and cross country coach.) We lived right by the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, so there was a wonderful 6-mile loop using two bridges and riverfront paths on the east and west sides of the river. This made me absolutely love running by water. (And the Susquehanna River smells A LOT better than the Schuylkill (sp?) :)

I married my amazing husband, Josh, in 2007 and moved to his hometown north of Philadelphia. I started running near our house which was ok, but mostly rural road with high speed limits with almost no shoulder...so I began to search for something...safer. :) I started running at Peace Valley Park which has a 6-mile trail around a lake...so it is a great distance and has the water element and some hills.

Since I have lived out here I started doing a bunch of 5Ks and did one 10K in 2008 and then in 2009 I did the Broad Street Run in Philly...a wonderful flat 10 mile run through the city. I am going to hopefully do the Broad Street again this year.

This winter hasn't been a great running season for me...but spring is right around the corner and I am excited to stretch my legs...and get running consistently again!!!