San Francisco, 2013
Hello! My name is Lily and welcome to my blog, Lily Runs the World. I grew up in Southern California, and moved to the South on a whim to experience something completely different after high school. I attended the University of Georgia in Athens, and it turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made.
Santa Barbara, 2013
I took a jogging class offered through UGA, and did not expect to love it as much as I did. I never really ran in high school, but I played almost every sport offered at my tiny high school. I especially loved volleyball. In the class at UGA, I remember the first day not being able to run for 20 minutes without having to stop. By the end of the semester, I was running a good amount of miles, and kept it up after the class was over. I never really paid much attention to my pace or distance, but I ran 4-6 miles every day, and was hooked. Unfortunately, I remember plateauing and then consistently having hard runs and not really understanding what was happening, and I lost determination. I didn’t keep it up and a few years later I moved back home to Santa Barbara. Noticing that I had gained a bit of weight, I started running to the beach from my parents’ house, gradually increasing my distance. I decided to run a 10k that began at my elementary school, and successfully trained and raced it in October of 2012. Within a year, I also lost 30-40 pounds. I ran my first half marathon in March 2013, and have run three more half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, and a ten-miler since, and will run a full marathon sometime in the near future.
Before I discovered the joy of technical running shirts.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
The other half of this blog is dedicated to traveling. My husband and I (we got married June, 2013) have decided that it’s a really good time in our lives to take some time to travel in Europe (and everywhere else). We’re realizing more and more that life is short, so why not experience as much adventure as possible while we can? We decided to quit our jobs and sell our cars and buy one-way tickets to Europe. We don’t have a set agenda (which is half the fun), and we left March of 2014. We basically want to visit as many cities/countries as possible, and stay as long as we can. And what better way to experience a foreign city than to run through it? I plan on running races in different countries, and I think that blogging will be a great way to chronicle our travels and my running, especially for our friends and families who will be wondering where in the world we are.
Riding the ferry to Bainbridge Island from Seattle, 2013
June 7, 2013
I have traveled a fair amount in my life (my mom is French and my family would travel to Europe every summer when I was growing up), and traveled twice by myself for a few months at a time a few years ago. These times created some of the best memories of my life, and I can’t wait to create a million more.
Home.
Feel free to contact me at lilyrunstheworld@gmail.com!
Lily Runs the World 
Thanks for the follow. After taking a peek at your blog, I find its very interesting! I am looking forward to reading more, and especially of your travels. My husband (who is from Ireland) have discussed moving back to him Country in the next year or two (I am in Northern California). 🙂
Thanks so much! I can’t wait until the traveling starts. We are going to Cork, Ireland with my parents in June, I’ve only ever been to Dublin, I’m excited! Where in Ireland is your husband from?
He’s from Dublin. I have been to most places in Ireland. Cork is great too!
That is so awesome you & your husband are traveling Europe… especially quitting your jobs and selling your car. I can’t wait to read about your guy’s trip and see the pictures!
Thank you!! We’re pretty excited!
So exciting! I’ve been to Europe a couple times and love traveling there without a plan! I wish I had brought my running shoes though! Can’t wait to hear about it!
I’ve never run there either, I can’t wait!
This is SO cool! I’ll have to keep following along 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Lily! I love this blog! I’m going to keep up with you all as you continue to travel. I hope you’re having an amazing time. xoxo
Deanna!! Thank you so much, we will have to catch up when I’m back in Athens later in the year!
I’m an American expat working in Australia. I love to see other Americans out traveling the world as I feel like we aren’t good about it as other countries. Glad I stumbled onto your blog.
Thanks so much for stopping by! I agree, I’ve come across so many people here in Europe that know three languages, have lived in multiple different countries, travel every few months, etc. It’s such a great way to live!
Thanks so much for commenting on my blog. I’ve spent the last hour reading yours and am ENTHRALLED. 🙂 #stalker #justkidding
If you end up moving back to the LA area, I’m here. 🙂 Would love to meet!
Side note: after reading your comment about being a Californian in Georgia, and then reading you went to UGA… well, I was only in Georgia to WORK at UGA for two years. Go figure! Have a great last week in Ireland!
That’s crazy you worked at UGA! I don’t meet that many people in California that have been to Athens. I’ll be back in Southern California at the end of September, it would be great to meet!
Hi, Lily! What an amazing journey you have been on. Looking forward to catching up with all of your adventures and reading more!