Pandemic Papers: An interview with Lizzy Peper

We are thrilled to resume the Pandemic Papers today after a several weeks’ hiatus, with a big ray of sunshine in Lizzy Peper (Class of 2016). Although Lizzy so beautifully details her many ups and downs here in this interview, I always found her to be a relentlessly positive person with a sunny disposition and glass-half-full outlook at all times. Yes, her freshman year of running at Marist was challenging. But not only did she never give up, her positive attitude never wavered. She rightfully credits Coach Chuck for helping her turn things around – both mentally and physically, a microcosm of our entire women’s program under his expertly caring watch for the past decade.

Anyway, Lizzy has remained extremely active in the running community in her native Maryland and Baltimore area. I have no doubt in my mind that her positivity continues to shine through in her work and especially in her coaching of other athletes. She uses the word “cheerleader” below, and when it comes to coaching motivated and mature adults, positive feedback is what it’s all about. Lizzy has an infinite bucket of positivity, so no problem there. Lizzy is part of a group of young alums with whom we have stayed close. Whether it’s social gatherings locally or lately via Zoom, talking with Lizzy in these group settings is awesome. She has true passion for life and for all things running – footwear, clothing, diet, training, racing, all of it. It might sound like a cliché, but she’s a true ambassador for the sport.

One other point, in general about this interview series and specifically about this interview: They will be far less frequent moving forward. The Pandemic Papers will not go away entirely, but there certainly won’t be daily interviews as we did during the months of April and May and even into June. My intention is to keep it going, but on a more sporadic basis – maybe once a week, a few times a month, something like that. As this pandemic stretches into the late summer and fall, our lives continue to evolve with it – some good, some bad, a lot in between, and we have to recalibrate minds to a very uncertain short-term future called the fall 2020 semester at Marist College and elsewhere. Life in the Marist Running world goes on, in a very altered state. It’ll be challenging to navigate it and the focus of future blog posts may pivot more in that direction.

Lizzy’s interview really highlights the shift in this pandemic to what it is: A more long-term part of our lives. The tone of this interview reflects that. She has had a rollercoaster ride with this virus – personally, professionally. The majority of the daily interviews during the early phase of the pandemic were celebrations of the past and short examinations of a present that we were trying to grapple with. We’re still trying to grapple with it, but it has slowly, in a subtle way, moved into a different phase. Everyone talks about a “second wave” in the fall and winter. I don’t see it. Mostly, because the “first wave” has never really ended. It’s more like an ebb and flow of Covid-19 world. Lizzy captures that ebb and flow wonderfully here, as I knew she would. She is a cherished, valued member of the Marist Running family – a true Forever Fox.

When and how and why did you start running?

My first experience with running was in fourth grade when I joined an after-school program called Girls on the Run. Each girl needed an adult buddy to run the 5K race at the end of the session and my Dad was mine. He had just started working at new company, Under Armour, and was inspired to start running and training for races. Running is a special bond we have always shared since that race. I will never forget him telling me to “protect this house” and encouraging me to run strong through the last mile. I beat everyone except two middle school girls and I think this was the first time I saw running as something I could be decent at. After that, I ran the usual mile time trials required in gym classes, joined an after-school running program in middle school and occasionally ran local 5Ks with my Dad. One of my gym teachers predicted that I would run in college but it didn’t mean much to me at the time.

When I entered high school, I tried out for the soccer team but didn’t make the final cuts. My mom ended up forcing me to join the cross country team. And I mean, really forced. My parents have never been pushy about sports but for some reason my Mom was adamant that I did a sport my freshman year. I remember getting in a huge fight about it. We struck a deal that I would try the team for two weeks and if I hated it after that, I could quit. Well, 12 years later and I still haven’t quit running. Big thanks to my Mom for changing my entire life.

Tell us about your high school running career. What are some of your fondest memories and racing highlights from that time?

My freshman year was a dream. I made the varsity team after running my second race. Our core group of 8 ran together, which included 3 senior girls who were some of the best runners in the state at the time. I had to work extremely hard to keep up and would come home every day from practice completely exhausted. Our team was incredible. We won two big invitational meets, county championships and eventually the state championships. At that time, I didn’t know any different. I did what the coaches said to do at practice, showed up to each meet, set a new PR each time, beat the girls I needed to and then we would win. Winning the state championships was one of the most incredible feelings. Although we had won major races the entire year, no one put us in their winner predictions. We ended up creaming the competition; no one was even close to us. I will never forget the feeling of jumping up, holding hands and accepting our medals.

It wasn’t until senior year that the pieces really clicked for me again. I was extremely dedicated to my training leading into my fall season. I ran doubles, learned about prehab exercises, focused on healthy eating, upped my mileage and wanted a good senior year of running more than anything. I spent most of that year running with the boys on our team and a few of them remain some of my closest friends to this day. I was in the best shape of my life at that point and performed well at workouts, but I struggled immensely with the mental side of racing. I would give up on myself during races and end most in tears. I never raced the way I felt I should and could, based on my training and workout performance. The girls team didn’t qualify for cross country states for the first time in years and I was devastated. At one point, I started seeing a sports psychologist. I was able to pull together a few decent performances by track season and some highlights included setting the indoor DMR school record, running a new 800 PR and qualifying for outdoor states in the 4x800.

How and why did you choose Marist? What other schools were you considering and why did you choose Marist over them? What was the recruiting/search process like for you?

I stumbled upon Marist by chance, and I am so glad I did! My spring break junior year consisted of a Northeast college road trip with the whole family (my siblings were thrilled). I had a couple that I was excited to visit but Marist ended up on the list simply to fill out our schedule.

The first time that I visited Marist, I cut short my tour at Vassar to meet with Coach Pete. I insisted that I was going to do this meeting and then go right back to Vassar’s beautiful campus. The joke was on me because I never went back to Vassar until we drove there for cross country practice my freshman year. I should mention that I wasn’t sure I would run in college. I was focused on my academics and debating if running would be a part of my future. I was seriously considering running at DIII schools but DI was definitely a stretch for me. Pete was upfront with me that I would not be as fast as most of the other girls in my class. I liked his honesty and was motivated by the thought that being on this team would make me a better runner if I could work hard enough.

My second choice was Gettysburg College and I was able to make good connections with the team and coaching staff there. I knew that being on that team would mean a much higher spot, but ultimately, Marist was the right package for me. The combination of a stellar communications program, honors program, student-run dance ensemble and the chance to run on a DI team was everything I had hoped for and more. 

What was your academic major at Marist and what can you say about your academic studies at Marist? Do you recall your favorite courses, professors, or influences?

I majored in communication with a concentration in public relations and very much enjoyed my classes in that department. Some highlights that stick out are my journalism focused classes including Magazine Journalism. Contrary to popular opinion, I also remember liking our required public speaking course freshman year. Maybe I am looking back through rose colored glasses but I think I actually liked school. Learning how to write a press release or speak in front of people are the practical skills I still use today.

I enjoyed making the most of my schedule and ended up completing three minors. My absolute favorite was Studio Art. Back when the Steel Plant was much more gritty and paint-splattered, I loved my time there painting, drawing and making books. I had taken art classes all through high school and to this day, I am so grateful that I was able to continue those experiences in college.

What are some of your fondest memories and highlights of your time as a student-athlete at Marist?

My memories from this team could go on and on forever. First of all, thank you to every person who I had the honor of running on a team with from 2012 to 2016. You are all family for life. I love that our college experiences are extremely unique. Loading onto a bus every weekend, complete with meal money and a trip to Price Chopper. Being very accustomed to driving around Poughkeepsie in white vans. Getting our hair braided (complete with handmade bows) by Nicki (Nesi) before every meet. Spending winter weekends in chilly Boston for indoor track meets at BU. Decorating pumpkins and apple picking while our classmates went out during dry seasons. Going out early when we could go out and being up early for practice every weekend no matter what no matter what happened the night before. Though not the typical college experience, these are the things I will treasure forever.

A few specific memories: Freshman year - All of us running a horrendous first race at Bowdoin Park with terrible photos to match, complete with an image of Chuck staring in disbelief at our slow times on his watch. We used to look at those photos years after any time we needed to laugh so hard we would cry. Annie (Gould) and I eating Teddy Grahams and Raisennettes just before running our first 6K at Paul Short (would not recommend). Sophomore year - Living with the six other girls from the class of 2016 in Foy. What an adventure, but we survived! Shoutout to Brie (Vess) for motivating me to keep my half of the room neat. Going all out with our costumes for our Halloween premeet run the day before MAACs.  Junior Year - Deciding to wear pigtails every race(?!) Hosting team meals for the girls team during intersession. Senior Year - Sneaking on to the Regionals bus to decorate it for the competing men and women before they left. Winning ECACs as a team to finish cross country. Toeing the line with 50+ other girls for my final 5K on the track for outdoor MAACs.

My two greatest highlights as a student-athlete have nothing to do with times or places in a race. The first one is by far the best - being nominated as a cross country co-captain my senior year. To rewind a little bit, the first race I ever ran in a Marist uniform was terrible. I ran my slowest 5K of all time and came dead last in the entire race. In fact, my entire freshman year was a bust for me. I consistently performed worse that I had in high school and struggled with my mental toughness greatly. A lot of hard work and weekly one-on-one mental work with Coach Chuck allowed me to steadily improve each season. By my senior year, I could easily run a 6K faster than that first 5K. That being said, I was still only a middle of the pack runner. So being voted co-captain by the team was something that I really took to heart. To be honest, I do have some regrets about not using my voice as much as I should have while I was captain. I definitely felt a little bit of imposter syndrome and I think I could have done a better job of expressing the needs of the team as a whole.

My second greatest honor was receiving the Presidential Academic Achievement Award at the Senior Athletics ceremony. It was extra special to have Mark Vuono from the men’s team be named the male recipient that year as well.

All in all, I wouldn’t trade anything for my time on the Marist running teams. The people made the experience. Thank you, fellow Red Fox runners.

You've continued to run and race post-collegiately. Talk about that, some of the highlights and some of your future goals with running and racing?

As runners, we are so lucky that our sport can remain a part of our daily lives, in whatever capacity we want. My biggest post-collegiate running accomplishment was completing my first marathon in 2018. When my Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier that year, I quickly decided I would run the Baltimore Marathon that October to honor him and fundraise for the American Cancer Society. My Dad has run countless marathons and I gained so much appreciation for the hard work that he and so many other runners put in to run 26.2. I think marathon training was especially good for me mentally because I had nothing to compare it to from college running. Each long run was a new distance and I was learning a lot along the way. I ended up raising $5,000 for ACS and crossed the finish line after a very hilly course in under 4 hours.

Other highlights have included running half marathons in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Wilmington. I actually set my half PR in 2017 in Philly after running my second half marathon in one week. Races have also been a cool way to connect with fellow Marist alumni. The Philadelphia Marathon weekend has been a favorite for a few of us and I got to see Bryn (Gorberg) at the Delaware Half Marathon.

One of my biggest goals is to run a half marathon race in every state. Six down, 44 to go! I would also like to set a 10K PR and run the NYC Marathon. For right now though, I just want to enjoy the run!

You've stayed connected to the sport very closely with your job. Tell us what you do and how you came to be doing your current job?

Definitely! It seems I am destined to wear running clothes 24/7 for my entire life. I currently run the marketing for Charm City Run, a run/walk specialty shop with 7 locations and an events business in Maryland. I started working for CCR during summers and school breaks after my junior year of college and after graduating in 2016, I started a marketing role. I eventually became the Senior Marketing Manager in 2017. Working for a small business means that you do a lot of different things and I have had opportunities and experiences that I wouldn’t have pretty much anywhere else at my age. Social media, e-commerce, email, store event planning, website maintenance, public relations, promotions, signage, digital ads and overall strategic planning for the retail side of CCR falls under my domain. I also have the opportunity to work with our awesome vendors such as Brooks, New Balance and Asics to execute campaigns.

As a slightly separate job, I also coach for Charm City Run and just started back at it with a group training for a 12-mile race this fall. Coaching is one of my biggest passions and I honestly enjoy it more than my own training. I love being a cheerleader for other people and giving them the tools, encouragement and training plans they need to reach their goals. It is extremely rewarding to be a part of someone’s running journey and help them make running an enjoyable and sustainable part of their life.

How has the pandemic affected you -- professionally and personally?

Wow. Where to start. The pandemic has had a pretty significant impact on my personal life. Without getting deep into the details, I spent 10 days at an AirBnB in Baltimore with my boyfriend after being potentially, closely exposed to COVID-19. We were unable to go back to my house once we found out about our potential exposure as both my roommates are nurses at Johns Hopkins Hospital. We couldn’t risk exposing them and jeopardizing their cancer patients. Ultimately, we were both negative. A couple of weeks ago, I spiked a fever and had a few other symptoms so after another round of self-isolation, I had another negative test result. If anyone is in need of COVID testing tips, just let me know!

COVID-19 has also had a huge impact on me professionally. This entire pandemic has been like a giant case study for crisis communications. A lot of my job has consisted of sharing updated information about our stores and how people can shop with us. The run specialty industry in general has adapted greatly. Suddenly, our e-commerce presence became much more important and our closed shoes became shipping facilities. We added a second online store and a new shipping platform. We also set up virtual shoe fittings and apparel appointments on Zoom. Something changes every day, even every hour sometimes. As of now, we finally have all 7 doors open again, with safety precautions in place. The bottom line is that it is all about making it work for the customer and our communities have shown us the greatest support.

How are things in Maryland and where do you see this going in the short- and long-term?

Maryland was a hot spot at one point for COVID so we were shut down since mid-March. We are now in Phase Two of recovery which for us means that retail, gyms, dining and other venues are allowed to open with safety modifications. Everything varies by county and Baltimore City, where I live, is one the strictest areas so we have been lagging behind the rest of the start with re-openings. 

In terms of running, we are making progress on the racing and training fronts. We recently held two in-person races. Both were limited to 250 runners and involved significant modifications including ongoing start windows for two hours so that no runners lined up together, contactless packet pick-ups and no after parties. I was able to run in both of these races and felt totally safe. It felt good to pin on a race bib again. We also recently started training groups with procedures to keep our runners and coaches safe including wearing face covering when we gather for group instructions and keeping our distance on the run. These experiences make me optimistic that we can continue to find ways to enjoy the sport that we love so much in safe ways as we move forward.

What are some of your greatest memories from your final few months at Marist and what message can you relay to our recent graduates, who lost the experience of the end of their senior year?

First of all, my heart goes out to the senior class of 2020. My brother is a part of that group as a recent Marist grad and I know that our family Zoom celebration was not what any of us had in mind for his graduation. I would say: treasure the memories you had, the things you learned and the people you met during your (almost) four years at Marist. No matter how things ended, nothing can take those things away from you. Your education, team, relationships and experiences from Marist will be a significant part of your life forever. Do what you can to stay in touch with the people who you care about and realize how lucky you are to have met them in such a special place. And, you will never forget your graduation year! When you say you graduated in 2020, people will remember you as a pandemic grad.

You've stayed in touch with a lot of your alums. How special is that and what tips can you give to the most recent graduates on staying connected?

The people I met at Marist are the best takeaway. I know that a lot of these people will be friends for life. As I mentioned before, usually running is a big connector for staying in touch. Planning races to attend together is a fun way to meet up with fellow running alumni. In general, though, I think getting in touch is all about two-way effort. Especially if you don’t live in the same place, both people need to make time for phone calls and travel for visits. You will quickly find out who is going to put in the effort to maintain a relationship with you. Hold on to that and put in the effort on your end as well. Plan trips that you can look forward to (when it is safe) - whether that be driving to see your friend in their city or planning a getaway together. One of my personal favorites was visiting Christine (Coughlin) in Hawaii with fellow alums Annie, Kenny and Butti. When you can’t travel, make the effort to call or text. You might see each other less frequently, but Marist running connections are as strong as the runners themselves. That special bond never fades.

Anything else you'd like to add …

Thank you for being part of the reason that Marist runners stay connected after graduation. Marist wouldn’t be the same without you, Pete!