The Rambling Runner

Although she spent her childhood with her nose in a book, ducking when any ball was thrown in her direction, Vanessa is now a 2-time Boston Marathon finisher, and has run over 100 road races. Currently an advising dean at Georgetown University, Vanessa earned her Ph.D. in medieval history from The Catholic University of America. Vanessa lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Patrick and their daughter, Lucy. When she began graduate school, Vanessa did not imagine that running would help her earn a doctorate in medieval history. Yet, within a few months of lacing up her sneakers, Vanessa went from a non-runner to qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon. Vanessa enjoyed that running rewarded those who embraced hard work and sought to see similar results in school. But the struggles associated with a rigorous academic program caused Vanessa to wonder whether she would ever accomplish her lifelong goal of earning a Ph.D. Her new book It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint: My Road to the Marathon and Ph.D. tells