In 2006, Karin Reemts lost a dear friend to leukemia. She founded "Joggin for Jenn," and over the next 4 years raised $10000+ for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running half/full marathons. The key race was the 2006 Chicago Marathon. Karin trained for and ran that race for Jenn—and for all those that couldn't run. Karin had found her "why" and discovered running for a greater purpose!

During the pandemic, Karin felt like she was running around in circles and felt a bit rudderless. She learned about RIVS plight from brother Jacob and took to heart something he said, "lets breath life into RIVS by running, walking, and moving our bodies."

Karin hired Jacob as her coach and he taught her to focus on effort & time, add variety to her paces, and to trust the process. For the past 18 months, Karin has put all her energy into spreading awareness and raising funds for RIVS and completed the PRP Virtual Race series of Team Peak Run races: 25K, 50K, 50M, 100K—which benefitted Bigger Than The Trail—all while staying healthy.

Karin and husband Patrick had a 5+ year IVF journey to have their children, Baxter and Cassidy. Because it was such a rough, uphill battle to get pregnant, Karin poured every last ounce of herself into being the best mom. Ultimately, that took a big toll and she lost herself along the way. Her husband insisted she schedule 10 minutes a day for herself—which slowly grew to an hour—and the "Happy Mama Project" was born.

Soon Karin was running again, which had always helped her manage anxiety. When home schooling during the pandemic, her kids helped out too, suggesting when Mom "needed to get in a run." This part will resonate with all the moms out there that we love, who take on so much for their families.

We discuss: family life, youth sports, swimming, running, triathlon, mentors (Coach Showers & Coach Holm), running for a greater purpose, Joggin for Jen, Team RIVS, Bigger Than the Trail, hiring a new coach and positive changes made with Jacob Puzey, the Happy Mama Project, anxiety, how Running for RIVS galvanized so many, the running community.

I'm so grateful for Karin coming on and sharing her inspiring story! I hope you all enjoy this convo as much as we did!

If you enjoy the episode, it would mean the world to me if you would rate the podcast or write a review and share feedback wherever you get your podcast groove on.

Connect With Karin:

Instagram: @the_happy_mama_project

All Links: https://campsite.bio/thehappymamaproject

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: @ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: @runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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Produced by: David Margittai | In Post Media

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Social: @_margittai

© 2022 Ron Romano