Layna began running nearly three decades ago, when she ran the mile on her middle school track team, in Ocala, Florida. She’s become a more avid runner since moving to Chapel Hill in 2004; she particularly likes running on the single-track trails of Carolina North Forest. Layna loves running not only for its physical benefits, but also for its emotional ones: running provides her with much needed “me time,” and with the potential to set and achieve goals. It also has introduced her to a wide and wonderful set of people who are members of the local running community. Layna ran the Uwharrie Mountain Run 40 mile run in 2008, and she has since run several other ultramarathons, including three hundred-mile races. Layna also loves bringing the joy of running to others: she has served as the co-race director of the Little River Trail Runs (put on by her running club, the TrailHeads) since 2009, and she’s a former coach and current board member of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Pacers, a running program for kids ages 7 to 13. When she’s not on the trails, Layna is a professor in Political Science at UNC, a stepmom to two teenagers, and a mother of two preschoolers.
