Holland Carley
HC seaside
Holland Carley began her running career in 2004, and since then she has taken many an opportunity to get out there and compete. She honestly cannot remember how many 5k and 10ks she has participated in, but to date she has ran 22 half marathons!
Holland was born and raised in Starkville, Mississippi. She is the youngest of four siblings, and so by the time she was born her parent's had basically run out of possible names for their children. Thus, they gave her the name "Holland," which was her mother's maiden name, and they did not give her a middle name. She lived in Mississippi through college, where she attended Mississippi State University. It is because of her alma mater that if you see her talking with fellow Mississippi State graduate Scott Ramsden that you will probably hear the both of them give a big "GO DOGS!" chant at some point.
Since leaving "The Hospitality State," Holland has lived in Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Lincoln, NE, and now to Nashville, TN. Currently she is the Assistant Director of Sponsored Research at Vanderbilt University. Which to break that down for everyone outside of the medical research world means that she deals with the what happens before and after grants are awarded. Holland is also a graduate student at Vanderbilt, studying to get her Masters degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences.
So far in the year 2009, Holland has ran 9 Half Marathons! Then again, maybe that is to be expected since her father created the Frostbite half marathon race in her hometown, which she used to help out with while she was growing up. So far her favorite races have taken place around one of her favorite places in the world, the Gulf Coast. Her overall favorite so far was the inaugural Tampa Women's Half Marathon this year, which boasted a great course, great aid workers and volunteers, free pink crocs, and an assortment of great post-race food and drinks.
Holland is continuing her training for more races this year, and even hopes to begin entering triathlon competitions in 2010. Her dedication to the sport of running is inspirational, and her love for East Nasty is extraordinary, simply because she always wears our gear and represents us wherever she goes.