There are so many awesome things about our running group. Just one is the annual Potato-to-Tomato5k program, where volunteers throughout the group step up to coach non-runners to their very first 5k. For many of those volunteers turned coaches, it's a rewarding and emotional experience when race day arrives. For our newest East Nasty of the Week, it was nothing less. Meet Allyson Price (or as most of us know her, Ally).

Ally was born in Frankfurt, KY (who knows their state capitals?!). She lived there until she moved to attend the University of Louisville. At the time she attended, it was the home of the NCAA Men's Basketball National Champs! (If you've known Ally or her husband, Cheyenne, for any length of time, you've likely seem them sporting some Louisville love in their wardrobe.)

Ally didn't start running until she met her future husband back in Louisville. Their dates consisted of meeting to run the 3.1 mile loop at Iroquois Park, followed by dinner. After they were married, they made a pact that whatever job offer then got out of Kentucky, they would take. That led them to Nashville about 9 1/2 years ago. Currently, Ally is a cytogenetic technologist for a private lab. She says she basically looks at chromosomes all day. I'm thinking for such a fancy job title, this is a more interesting career than she lets on - something to ask her about when you see her next!

Ally's husband discovered East Nasty through the ol' interwebs, and was the first to start running with us because at the time, Ally was pregnant with their daughter, Hadley (see photo below and prepare for totes cuteness). But soon after Hadley was born, Ally joined us and the rest is history. Almost a year to the day after delivering Hadley, Ally completed her first half marathon at the Rock & Roll New Orleans Half, with Cheyenne by her side.

And so to bring things full circle, Ally's "absolute best moment" of East Nasty was seeing the women she coached in the Couch-to-5k program cross the finish line at the TomatoFest 5k in 2012. In her words, "Some of these women didn't believe that they would ever get to this point, and still came back week after week to complete the training and the 5k. It was definitely an emotional event for all of us."

Props to you Ally - thanks for your service to our group, and for the bright smile you bring to Wednesday nights.