About me
Hi, I’m Taya.
I’m an engineer, mom of two, runner, reader, vegetarian, coffee lover, and the person behind Taya Runs and Reads.
I live in Minnesota with my husband, Joel, our kids, Hailey and Miles, and the general chaos that comes with school schedules, sports, work, laundry, and trying to remember what we planned for dinner.
I started this blog in 2012. It has slowly become a running log, book review archive, family journal, race recap collection, and catch-all for the random things I want to remember.
Running
I started running in 2010 because a classmate in college wanted to sign up for a half marathon and I decided to join him. I had no idea how to train. I mostly just ran randomly, somehow finished, and assumed that would be the end of it.
Then I moved to Minneapolis for a summer internship and found Club Run. My coaches, Mitch and Ryan, helped me understand that there were actual running shoes, actual training plans, and better options than cotton T-shirts and basketball shorts.
That community turned into marathons, half marathons, 10 milers, Ragnars, one 35-mile ultra, two Boston qualifiers, and a lot of miles in every kind of Minnesota weather.
Running has followed me through pre-kids life, pregnancy, postpartum, comeback attempts, PR chasing, injury frustration, and race weekends with friends. I write race recaps because I like having the details saved somewhere: the weather, how I felt, what worked, what absolutely did not work, and what I was thinking during the miles in between.
Reading
I also read a lot. Mostly mysteries, thrillers, cozy mysteries, some romance, and the occasional fantasy or sci-fi book.
I write book reviews partly because I love talking about books and partly because I read enough that I will absolutely forget the details if I do not write them down.
My reviews are honest, conversational, and not trying to be fancy. Sometimes I love a book. Sometimes it is just fine. Sometimes I wonder whether I read the same book as everyone else. All of those reactions have a place here.
I also read and review advance copies from NetGalley, track my reading mostly on StoryGraph, and built an audiobook tracking tool because apparently simply listening to a book was not enough.
Family, plans, and the regular stuff
The life section is where everything else goes: family updates, kid moments, travel, home projects, goals, digital planning, product reviews, work thoughts, and the ordinary things I know I will want to look back on later.
We are in the stage where the kids have activities, opinions, schedules, and social lives, while still being young enough that getting everyone fed, packed, and out the door can feel like an event itself. Joel plays a lot of pickleball. I usually have too many things on the calendar and still somehow forget groceries.
Engineer by day, organizer in theory
I work in the medical device industry. I started in power generation, found my way into med device, and do not think I could switch back. I care deeply about working on technology that matters to patients.
Being an engineer probably explains why this site has race result pages, reading archives, tools, templates, and carefully organized lists. I love planners, gadgets, digital planning, and anything that makes me think I am finally going to get my life together. I do not always keep up with those systems, but I remain very committed to trying another one.
What you’ll find here
This is not a perfectly curated lifestyle blog. It is more like a long-running journal with better navigation.
Running and race recaps
Training cycles, race weekends, comeback attempts, and the details from the miles in between.
Book reviews
Honest reviews, spoilers, monthly wrap-ups, favorite books, and lots of mysteries.
Family life
Hailey, Miles, Joel, kid activities, weekend plans, and the ordinary moments I want to remember.
Minnesota and travel
Local kid-friendly outings, race trips, family travel, and places we genuinely liked.
Vegetarian food and coffee
What we are trying to make for dinner, coffee stops, and the occasional attempt at meal planning.
Gadgets and systems
Tech, planners, templates, digital planning, product reviews, and systems I may or may not keep using.
A note about family posts
Some of my more personal posts, especially posts with kid photos or family details, are login-protected.
It is not meant to be exclusive. I just do not want random people finding photos of my kids through Google years from now. Registration is free and quick.
Grab a coffee and follow whichever rabbit hole sounds fun.
Start with the race recaps, browse the book reviews, check out the life updates, or see what I have been writing lately. I’m glad you’re here.