Samantha and Nero

Today’s Runner Spotlight is all about Samantha! She is running the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on behalf of PAWS NY and in honor of her pup Nero, a Siberian Husky who passed away in March 2023.

Samantha started running a few years ago to help with anxiety and challenge herself physically. “After seeing my miles go up each week, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father who ran seven New York City Marathons,” she said.

Read Samantha’s full Q&A below to learn more about Nero, her first (pet-related) job, and her favorite spots to run in her town of South Orange, New Jersey.

Why did you decide to run the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon? Have you participated in long races in the past?

Samantha and her father

I started running a couple of years ago to help with anxiety and challenge myself physically.  After seeing my miles go up each week, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father who ran seven New York City Marathons.

What is your connection to PAWS NY? Why is this cause important to you?

In March of 2023, I lost my beautiful Siberian Husky named Nero at 13.5 years old.  My husband and I adopted him at 8 weeks old and he was with us through many milestones, starting in our apartment in Queens, through a wedding, three moves, and two kids. 

Nero lived an incredible life with lots of bike rides, runs, and hikes. With all of his exercise, we couldn’t quite understand why he was always on the hefty side. It wasn’t until we dug up his papers that we found out he was sired by a dog named Chunkster: riddled solved! Even with the extra pounds, running was in his blood, just like it is in mine. PAWS NY was a wonderful organization where I could honor his spirit and help many more pups and people along the way.

Do you have any pets of your own? Did you grow up with pets? Tell us about them!

I always had dogs growing up and my very first job when I got my working papers at 14 years old was at a pet store named Puppy Park. I did not care if I had to clean all the cages for hours, I loved that I could learn about each puppy breed and play with them at my leisure.  

How long have you been running? What are some of your favorite places to run?

I have been running for two years and I love running in my historic town of South Orange and along the emerald coast of our vacation home in Destin, Florida.

What do you do in your free time (besides run)?

I am an Elementary Art Teacher and a mom of Violet (5) and Sebastian (7).  

Share 2-3 fun facts about yourself! What should we know?

I can throw a tight spiral, I work as a Division head during the summers at Jeff Lake Camp, and over the pandemic I started my own art kit company for kids called Smockit: @smoc_Kit!

What are your goals for this race?

I want to finish in under 4 hours.

Samantha, thanks for supporting PAWS NY as you run this Marathon and follow in your father’s footsteps! Click here to donate to Samantha’s fundraising page or support the team overall.

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