Why I Changed Course (Midstride) to The Professional Amateur Runner

When I first started writing my book, it was titled "Running Through the Storm." It was personal, powerful, and, if I’m being honest, emotionally intense. I was diving into the heavy stuff: family emergencies, professional burnout, and the moments when running felt like my only way to cope.

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And while those stories are still worth telling, and I will tell them someday, I realized I wasn’t quite ready to live in that emotional space every time I sat down to write.

What was I ready for? Something a little lighter. A little funnier. A little more “real life runner gets passed by a guy in a banana suit” and a little less “here’s how I kept it together when everything was falling apart.”

That’s how The Professional Amateur Runner was born.

This version of the story still has heart and struggle, but it also has humor, awkward water stops, and the quiet victories of showing up, trying again, and learning to laugh at yourself (especially when your toenail falls off and you Google, “Is this normal?”).

I’m not abandoning the storm, I’m just taking a scenic detour. One that reminds me (and maybe you) that it’s okay to keep things light while still running toward something meaningful.

The deeper book will come. But right now, I’m enjoying the run.