Our newest East Nasty of the Week (ENOW) hails from Rutherford County, is married to a former ENOW, and has a cat named after a popular late-nineties television show. Nasties, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Rich Alexander!

Rich considers himself a Nashville native although he grew up in LaVergne, TN. Sports weren't really his thing, but he spent a lot of time at football games playing trombone in high school and college marching bands. He went on to become an all state trombonist.

Rich advertising for a senior recital in college

Rich attended Middle Tennessee State University on a full scholarship for music and earned a degree in Music Education specializing in classic trombone. Half of his college life was spent in practice rooms in the Music building at MTSU and the rest involved hanging out with friends and performing at various venues. His most exciting performance experience and brush with greatness came in his senior year when he got to go on tour with the Jordanaires, Elvis Presley’s former back-up band.

Rich works as a computer programmer for Schnieder Electric, an energy management company, where he leads a team that develops software to monitor power usage for large commercial entities like Vanderbilt, manufacturing plants, etc. He gets to travel a lot and has been to many countries, including China, Dubai, Canada, Czech Republic, France and Germany.

Rich started running about 3 years ago via the East Nasty Couch to 5K program. His biggest accomplishment is running the Music City Half Marathon after having only been running for 6 months. He's a retired half marathoner now and typically sets his sights on running a “fast 5k”. His goal this year is to break a 20 minute 5K time.

Rich learned about East Nasty through his wife, and fellow ENOW, Polly Alexander and started running with us after being a “running widower” as Polly headed off on her half marathon trips and adventures. His most memorable East Nasty experience is completing The Nasty after having only been running for a few months.

As a person who loves his neighborhood and the awesome vibe over in East Nashville, the thing Rich loves most about East Nasty is how much EN has added to the community feeling in East Nashville and in many ways has contributed to the neighborhood improvement over the past 10 years.

Rich says, "East Nasty provides a safe, positive environment for runners and has encouraged many west siders to cross the river and experience everything we have to offer. This has only enriched the neighborhood and made us the awesome community that we are today."

In his spare time, Rich enjoys listening to live music, eating at new restaurants, and hanging out with his wife and their 3 kitties: Woodford, Buffy and Jessica.

Rich, good luck on that sub-20 5K time! Congrats and welcome to the ENOW club!