Runners are creatures of routine and changes are a difficult thing to adjust to.  Change is a part of maturing and taking a step into the future. I have always had trouble coping with change, and the outcomes it brings. Changes are hard but inevitable. When a person takes a step into a world of wondering and unknown expectations, it can be a little scary. I am about to experience a significant change, and I am nervous but also excited to new possibilities.

I have been an elite athlete with ZAP Fitness for the last four years. It has been a wonderful journey that has enabled me to become successful in the sport of running. With their help, I hope to continue the success I have gained.

Within the next two months, I will be leaving ZAP to go home to prepare for my wedding. This is a huge step for me, but also very exhilarating. I am ready for the change, but it still freaks me out to try something different, outside of the environment I have been living in. Not only will I be getting married at the end of August, but I will be moving to another location, and starting a new life for myself. I should be ready for it, since I am 27 years old.

The great thing is that I get to move to my old stomping ground of Lexington, KY, and continue to train and race. It will be like old times back in college, but with new experiences. Thomas Morgan and I will be newlyweds (even though we have been dating for nearly a decade), and he will be an assistant coach for UK, while I will be volunteering for the team, and training. It is a new and exciting endeavor for Thomas, and I am looking forward to being there for him. Even though I am entering a different path in my life, I am open minded to new opportunities and adapting accordingly.

Another new and exciting opportunity will present itself in my first trip to Europe. After racing well at US Nationals this past weekend in the 10,000 meters, I will be leaving June 30th with a fellow teammate, to spend the next two weeks in Europe. There I will be racing a 1500 and a 5,000, in hopes of getting some PRs and finishing the season off with a bang. I have been looking forward to going to Europe for the last three years, but especially so because I am fit and ready to go. It should be an awesome time and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Even though the life I have known for the last four years is coming to a close, I can look forward to the changes that lie ahead. I look forward to getting stronger and improving as an athlete, and continue to succeed at the highest level I can attain. I just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.

Allison Grace