About

Hi, I’m Ari. I started this blog in the fall of 2017 to document a year of training for a hometown 10K. Then it turned into more of a general running blog. I wrote race recaps, marathon training posts, and anything I could think of that had to do with running.

While I would like to continue to write about running, I want a central place to keep my long-form content (as well as create more of it), so this blog is meant to be a place for it all – the running and more.

The title of this blog comes from the mantra I sometimes repeat during races. Saying “my body is a machine” over and over seems to separate my brain from the thing that is doing the running, which helps. Sometimes.

Running Stuff

I consider myself a “serious amateur” runner.

I’m faster in my 40s than I was in my 20s.

I’m a proud member of the New York Harriers.

I ran my first 26.2 miler, the 2018 NYC Marathon, as part of Fred’s Team, raising money for cancer research in honor of my mom who died in 2017.

I BQ’d (by 1:55!) in my second marathon, the 2019 New Jersey Marathon.

I was training for my first Boston Marathon in 2020 until the world fell apart.

Other Stuff

I have a golden retriever named MacGregor.

I have been a professional photographer since 2007. My work can be found at ariscottphotography.com.

I created a food blog, The Frugal Spinster, during the pandemic. (Clearly I love food, given the two photos of myself I’ve chosen for this page.)

I am very slowly learning Welsh on Duolingo.

I am fascinated with genealogy and love to research my family tree.

Disclaimer

I’m not an expert in any health-related field. None of my own training, running, workouts, or anything else I do is meant to be advice for anyone else. Consult your doctor before embarking on a fitness or running program. Basically, I am an idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about most of the time. I’m usually wrong. Don’t do anything I do.