Ellie Pinzarrone, 22
Student/Cocktail Waitress

I've been running for...

10 years.

I feel good when I run 60 miles per week. Anything less doesn’t feel like I’m in shape.

I started running because...

I wanted to get in shape for basketball.

If I could no longer run...

I would become a professional elliptical-er.

My favorite run is...

A long run- 15-18 miles around neighborhoods in Champaign Illinois.

My 3 majors, and hence reason for a 5th year are: History, Gender/Women's

Studies/ and Art History.  I'm applying to graduate school for art history right now.

I like to run...

With music.

When I'm not running I like to...

Make art, re-read harry potter, drink tea. The art I love to do is either pastel or watercolor. Lately (past 3 years) my focus has been on images that I sew/paint/embroider/upon.  I really like the idea of embracing and resignifying a medium that has been designated as dowdy and patronized as an outlet of "woman's work."  I love embroidery; to me it's exactly like painting with a needle. 

I am inspired by...

My roommate Jaime Turilli who ran 5 years at U of I and set a new 5000 meter record. She came back from being told she would never run again.  She wasn't a walk on, but she wasn't really a "natural stud" as we say.  She worked so hard to achieve what she did; she is my favorite person to watch run and I'm so glad I got to be there when she ran so well.

The local runner I most admire is...

Jessica Langford. She is just plain phenomenal, but she puts a ton of work in. She’s not just a natural stud- for me she’s an inspiration because she shows that women can run right up with the men.

To push myself on a run I...

Think about all the other people who are faster and training harder than me.

The local runner I most admire is...

Ron Leonhardt. He is an amazing coach for Road Crew.  He makes running fun but still pushes you to your pain limit.  He is always positive and always humble. 

My dad and I race together all of the time, less so now that I'm permanently in Champaign. Neither he nor I is 'naturally' good at running and we both have to work really hard to drop time or compete at all.  We don't really have a rivalry with each other anymore (because I win now, haha).  When I was first starting out ( 7th grade through freshman year of high school) I was so focused on trying to keep up with him all the time. 

My dad and I have a sort of brother-sister relationship. We're both crazy and we both will do crazy workouts. This makes it a good paring for racing/training, but it also can be a little out of control. 

My strangest runs [so far] were...

1) being chased by a rabid dog

2) running through yards dressed as bandits with my former roommate, Joy.

Running makes me...

A better person because it takes my edge off and gives me an endorphin rush.  You can't worry about all the problems in life when you're out of breath; running forces you to focus on your body and your breathing. It's empowering to be fit and in control of your own body. In a sense it gives you control over your life.  Running feeds into other areas in my life because it gives me the sense of autonomy to do so.  It helps with my time management and often times I'll get ideas for papers or new mediums/images for my artwork while I'm running. 

My greatest running accomplishment is...

Running with the girls at the university of Illinois for 2 years. There is no way I can possibly explain in words "how challenging" it was running for U of IL. I was the only freshman that year who wasn't cut from the team and that was one of my biggest triumphs. Then, and now, I knew I was lucky to make the team, to be on the team and  because running with girls like that you realize just how small you are compared to the world of awesome runners. I never thought I 'deserved' any of that success; it was good coaching and hard work but nothing innate that helped me run really well and end up in the top 4.

My best personal achievements are...

My mile pr at 5:10 and 5k pr at 18:25 because those were the races I accomplished on my own post college.

My next goal is...

Getting fierce and running a race circuit abroad with my roommate. By getting fierce I mean getting mentally and physically tough so that it doesn't matter who I go up against, the terrain, the climate, inner voices, etc because if you're in shape and putting in tons of miles no one can touch you.  That is something I really learned and love about running is that you can achieve so much through hard work.  I really love that kind of 1:1 relationship with work and payoff.

My advice to other runners is...

Anything is possible with running; if you want to be good all, you have to do is work- it’s purely a matter of desire and commitment.  Raw talent or skill doesn’t count as much as will power and focus in long distance running.  Also take lots of Ibuprofen and try using tiger balm for achy muscles.