This is Cynthia’s first time running the Boston Marathon, and she’s representing #teambcnc. Help Cynthia reach her goal and make a donation here!

“I'm running the Boston Marathon for #TeamBCNC to support fostering inclusive communities for Asians and new immigrants.

Like many children of immigrants, I learned to code switch, brushing off comments like, "You're too Asian. You're not American enough." Fearing confrontation, I suppressed the hurt emotions. Eventually I asked, "Why am I minimizing myself to appease their ignorance?" Seeking to rediscover and reaffirm my multi-faceted identity, I channeled my energy into creative projects and nature experiences. I had the privilege to participate in a multi-week storytelling workshop sponsored by Pao Arts Center and The Podcast Garage where I processed an impactful and painful personal event linked to racism, transforming it into a powerful story to share in front of a live audience. I'm grateful my parents cultivated communities to give me roots and a deep appreciation of my heritage. I'm proud to be Taiwanese-American, a runner, and much more.”

When and why did you start running?

Running started out being a great way for me to spend active, quality time with friends. I believe my first race was joining a friend’s Ragnar Relay team. It was pretty intimidating for a non-runner, but I loved the intensity, vibe, and people, and eventually I ran 7 more before getting curious about marathons. My first few marathon races were also excuses to meet up with friends from around the country – now I’m hooked! 

What empowers you to keep running after a long day?

There are definitely days in which I struggle to get out the door for exercise, and there are stretches of time when inertia wins. My current goal is to keep a base level of running fitness so that I don’t have to go through the pains of building it back. Honestly, I can’t recall a day in which I ran that I didn’t feel good afterwards, so I try to remind myself of that. Movement outside is good for mental and physical health!  '

Where is your dream destination for running?

I don’t have any particular dream running destinations, though it might be fun to run a marathon on each continent. That said, I would like to do more running weekend meetups with friends, especially those living abroad! 

What is one thing you can’t run without?

My phone for pictures and Strava

What do you hope to achieve with Boston Marathon?

Checking off a long-time goal! Until I was in college, I didn’t know that people ran marathons for fun or that the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon. Since running my first marathon, I’ve flirted with the desire of running the legendary Boston Marathon. So I’m super excited I get to run this year as a charity runner, and depending how it goes, maybe I'll start chasing a BQ! 

If you could make up any Gatorade flavor that would be served at the marathon aid stations, what would it be?

I’m not into sports drinks. For race fueling, I love coconut water, a bite of stroopwafel, and fruit! The best part of my last marathon was the spectators who handed out pretzel sticks, orange wedges, pineapple chunks, and cherry tomatoes to runners passing by – definitely gave me the extra boost I needed in the last 10k stretch!