Peace out, love Tristin

“The Mountains are Calling…” 

One of my favorite things about the Appalachian Mountains is that no matter where you go, you are surrounded by the beautiful landscape. 

Even at night, when the view of the mountains is clouded by darkness, there is a view of the stars like nowhere else. 

It took awhile for me to realize that I was such a “place based” person. As an extrovert, I always thought that my energy and happiness levels were based on those around me. And it’s true that I do enjoy company--but I never realized just how much of my emotional well being was reflected by the place I was living. 

I love the Triangle of North Carolina--I love Chapel Hill because that is where I grew up and I love Raleigh because I’ve met so many amazing people and have become a part of such an amazing community.

But--I feel at home in the mountains. I don’t necessarily love any one of these places more than the other, but I know that this is where I should be. I was welcomed back with open arms by the people of the life long relationships I made here years ago, the family I became a part of, and the mountains that embraced me like they missed me as much as I missed them.

When I first decided to go to school at Appalachian State, I felt the same way. I was already a part of the intimate community before I had even started going to class. I knew that Boone would be a place for me to grow, connect with the landscape, and reach new heights. 

So when I decided that I was going to leave Raleigh a couple of months ago, moving back to Boone wasn’t the hard part--but leaving RDP was a different story.

We always said RDP was a business--of course we are all friends, but at the end of the day, we are also business partners. 

Leaving the business side wasn’t the hard part though. Leaving the people was hard. I knew I would keep friends, but knew that I would lose touch somewhat.

As an athlete, I knew what I had to do to be the best that I could be in Boone, and that meant joining a new club with other people who I knew I trained well with and connected well with. Through this whole decision making process, there have been ups and downs, but I know that I made the right decision. I honestly believe that I can be great in this sport--that I can be someone to beat.

I hope that this decision opens up an opportunity for someone else in the Raleigh area to join RDPs roster and benefit from the local resources in the Triangle and the extended Raleigh Distance Project community. 

So, thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and the Raleigh Distance Project through the entire process of the creation and growth of RDP. 

I may not be a member anymore, but I will always be a founder, supporter and fan of the organization.

That being said, I am extremely excited and thankful to have been accepted onto On Zap Endurance’s team and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.

RDP, I will miss you, but I’m not far! I will always be your number one fan.

“...and I must go.”