Hello, my name is Andrea. I owe my lifelong relationship with running to my Mom. She recognized that I was abysmal at team sports, so she signed me up for cross country running in high school. I was never the fastest on the team, but I was able to go for long periods at a slower pace. Did my first marathon at 17 and ran on and off during college and nursing school.

In order to be more accountable to my running, I set myself the goal of completing a marathon in each of the 50 states. Did a trail marathon on a whim and discovered my love for trail running. This was a good discovery for me as my slow pace made it difficult for me to meet the time limits on many road marathons, but the more generous time limits of trails allowed me to keep crossing states off my list.

In October 2018, a freak horseback riding injury led to a life changing diagnosis. My increasingly slower pace was not due to a lack of fitness but rather an underlying condition called Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). My body was unable to make any antibodies and over the preceding ten years, I had literally exhausted my immune system. I began treatment in 2019 and slowly reintroduced running back into my life completing one marathon that year. I felt stronger than I had in a long time. The marathons got easier to finish and my strength and endurance kept growing. With only one 50k race under my belt, I set an ambitious goal of tackling my first hundred miler. After 36 hours and 33 minutes, I crossed the finish line of the Superior 100 mile race. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I can’t wait to keep pushing and seeing what my body is capable of. Many people with CVID are limited by chronic illness, but I am thriving with treatment and I want to serve as an example of how to Live YOUR Best Life in spite of CVID. In the medical field, those with this condition are considered zebras as it is a rare and exotic condition. This is the origin of the term Zebra Strong.