#294 - Kristen Doornbos: Pursuing a Passion and Staring Down Challenges

When you meet someone who goes after what they want with passion, energy, grace, and optimism is it beyond infectious. It is awe inspiring. There is no other way to describe Kristen Doornbos. This force of nature is an athlete, artist, entrepreneur, and defeater of challenges. After having little to no experience in athletics growing up, Kristen started running five years ago as a social outlet from a job that left her lonely and wanting more. Shortly thereafter she was told that her exocrine pancreatic insufficiency would require her to have a feeding tube inserted into her abdomen or she could stop running. She chose the tube. That wouldn't be the last time she chose running. Over the coming years she battled her disease while diving deeper into running and triathlon. Because of her disease, nutrition was tough. Kristen was tougher. This summer, with COVID ravaging the massage industry in which she worked, Kristen decided to pursue her passion for snail mail and created Paper Trails Greeting Co. A niche company focused on greeting cards for dedicated amateur runners. Kristen's "Pandemic Pivot" went from lark, to interesting, to brilliant in short order. You can learn more about this amazing company at www.papertrailsgreetingco.com. Follow Matt: Instagram - @rambling_runner Twitter - @rambling_runner Rambling Runner Virtual Summit - https://www.theramblingrunner.com/summit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices