Zach and I met in July 2018 at New Paltz, NY. I was accepted to join Nike NYC marathon training program for local athletes. The program was called Project Moonshot. Camp 0 was the first weekend of our training program and Nike paid for us to leave the city to go upstate to SUNY New Paltz for "Running Camp". At Camp 0, we learned about nutrition for the marathon, new yoga poses for stretching and did a couple of workouts with our pace group on the New Paltz track. Our last night at Camp 0, was at an apple orchard. I sat down at picnic table and met Zach. I knew of him because he was the Pacer for my group workouts (he was wearing purple short shorts), so I have been following him on our runs but this was our first talking interaction. Zach and some of his friends were talking about the upcoming football season at the picnic table. My ears perked up, because this is my expertise. (I help run the CLE Browns bar in NYC and I’m from the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame!). I started to chime in to their conversation with my extensive knowledge and Zach’s head whipped around. “A GIRL WHO KNOWS FOOTBALL?! HOW COOL!” We talk for the rest night. I even made him take a photo with me so I could prove to my mother I made friends but it was really just a reason for me to get close to him. For the next month, we became friends and talked at every one of our weekly practices for Project Moonshot. I wanted to hang out with him outside of our running practices, so I invited him to join me at a Yankees Game. At the time, I did pro-bono work for a charity and they gave me tickets to their event, which was in a luxury box at Yankees Stadium. Zach was gobsmacked! In his words “This girl was different”. The next date, he planned, was the New York Rangers Season Opener. I have never been to a hockey game before but after that night I was hooked. While we were getting drinks after the game, he asked me to be his girlfriend. “I can’t now! I am busy with marathon training and I don’t have time for a relationship” I replied. We officially became BF/GF on November 7, 2018, which was our first date after I completed the 2018 NYC marathon.

The year was 2018 and there I was working for Nike living in New York City with my cluelessness of my direction in life at an all time time high. In July, being a pacer for the Nike Run Club, Nike launched their second year of the Project Moonshot program which was designed for athletes training for fall marathons an opportunity to reach what was their “moonshot,” goal. As it turned out, running 26.2 miles or my fastest fall race wasn’t the moonshot. It was running into Claire at Brooklyn Cider House during Week 0 camp trip and not too long later realizing she was different. When did I realize she was different you may ask? It was August 2018 after the BKLYN Mile at a local bar hall where we were enjoying the event afterparty and Claire knew what buttons to push and what cards to play. She asked me, you’re a Yankees fan right? Me responding yes, and her asking me “Do you want to go this game with me?” I gave the well “II gotta see if I can switch my days / check my schedule,” But already knew I was going to go. Being a New Yorker and lifelong yankees fan I was trying to call shots and be all cool. I call Claire asking “Hey, want to meet me at this gate.” She responds like “Noooo, you need to meet me at THIS gate.” Me not wanting to start anything I oblige and meet Claire at her desired gate she asked to meet at. It was the VIP entrance for the luxury boxes where Claire had surprised me with luxury box tickets for the game for the two of us. Yes, the boxes where you need a special ticket, to get into a special elevator, to get off on a special floor. At that moment it slowly starts to hit me, Claire wasn’t like any of the other women I’ve been out with. This one is different. And it was at that point I knew she was someone I wanted to be with. Claire was running the New York City Marathon that fall, her first ever full marathon, so between knowing that and me pacing we knew that during that time between August and November becoming officially boyfriend & girlfriend probably wasn’t fair to either of us. So we waited until Claire took care of business and a few days after the marathon, on November 7th, Claire asked me if id be okay if she introduced me as her boyfriend at this party we were planning on going to. I told her I’d really like that and that’s where it was official, I had a girlfriend!! Since then, Claire has been my everything! She has been my girlfriend, my best friend, my room mate, travel partner, wedding date, and currently my fiancee/ person I can not wait to spend the rest of of my life with.

This past July, Zach and I went back to the apple orchard, 5 years to the day we met. He asked me to recreate our first photo together by the picnic tables and then got down on one knee to ask me to spend the rest of our lives together. OF COURSE I SAID YES! He knew too, because he got us “She Said” “Yes” jerseys of our teams! See you in Canton!