Jess is the blogger behind Will Run For Food where she professes her love for running and her zeal for leading a health life. Jess claims that she is a terrible cook, but getting better, and incidentally the blog got started as a way for her to share her cooking misadventures but somewhere along the way the niche of the blog morphed into a place to share her thoughts on living healthy.

She writes articles on stuff related to running, healthy quick recipes and articles meant to inspire and motivate others to lead a health lifestyle. She has not had any formal training for what she writes on and states on the blog that - "I’ll clarify right now: I am not a nutritionist or formally educated in health or nutrition. The knowledge I impart is from experience and extensive personal research.".

She is a strict vegetarian for the past 5 years and has been enjoying being one. She switched to a vegetarian diet after seeing a video about chicken farming and how much cruelty is meted out to these animals there. Some of her vegetarian recipes are "simply" delicious!  I personally tried her recipe for the Veggie Lasagna and really liked it. She has also created a mini series of articles called "Your Running Month" where she motivates wanna be runners and guides them through a month of their initial running regimen and explains the gradual approach that they can adopt to be on their way to being successful runners.

Jess was good enough to spare some time and answer a few questions, regarding her blog, for us. Read on to find out more about Jess and Will Run For Food:


Hello Jess, please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello everyone. My name is Jessica Sanders. Though I am a regular small business and social media contributor to E-junkie, my real passion is in food, nutrition, health and wellness. While I do not have a degree in this field, or any professional training, I have spent hours teaching myself about being healthy, and living this lifestyle. My lifelong goal is to start my own women’s health magazine supporting whole health, and WillRunForFood is just the beginning.



How long have you been running and eating healthy vegetarian food? What got you into it?

I have been running for a little over a year now. While I’ve always been the gym type, I never stuck to a regular regiment; I was always in and out, here and there. Last January boyfriend started out on a weight loss journey – which ended in the loss of 50lbs! So, he started running, and soon after I was hooked too.

I became a vegetarian about 5 years ago. One of my classes had a speaker who showed us a video on factory farming, specifically chicken farms. While I will spare you the details, it was from that point on that I felt I needed to stop eating meat. That decision changed my life completely. Being a vegetarian has forced me to re-assess how I see food, what it means to me and what will best nourish my body.


What was the motivation behind starting WillRunForFood?

The blog actually started about two years ago as The Diary of a Bad Cook. As the title suggests, I am an awful cook and I thought it would be funny to chronicle my cooking mishaps. But when I started running I wanted to be writing about that as well. From there the blog transformed into what it is today.














Please describe in detail your weekly schedule for running.

My weekly schedule consists of 5 running days and two rest days. Usually I run Mon-Wed, Thurs off, run Fri-Sat and take Sunday off. I start my week with a shorter run, usually 3.5-4 miles, and then incline as I move through the week. My long runs are on the weekend, and those can range anywhere from 8-13 miles.

What is the biggest compliment that you have received since you started WillRunForFood?

I’m not sure that I have one particular compliment per se. In general, I love when people tell me that my blog has helped them, or inspired them. I want to be an inspiration for average women who strive to be healthy without killing themselves, so when I hear that from readers I am very flattered.

What other bloggers do you look up to? If you could get the lowdown on one other blogger who would that be and why?

There are so many. I am always looking at other successful blogs just waiting for the day I can be where they are. I like how Fit Bottomed Girls incorporates tips and tricks with personal experiences. They are successful, and for good reason.

I would love to know more about Jason Falls. While he is not a blogger in my niche, he has set himself apart as an authority in the social media field. His blog has set the bar, which is impressive in such an overly-populated blogosphere.






















Let’s have a rapid fire round:

Tea, coffee or fresh juice? 
Coffee, for sure!

Genre of music you listen to while running? 
Everything. I like slow music to help me keep a good pace, and fast music to push myself.

Favourite blogging tools? 
I love NRelate. For a blogger, decreasing bounce rate is important, and that plugin is incredibly effective for reducing that.

What is your favorite recipe? 
My favorite recipe is one that is versatile. I love a good stir-fry because you can make it as healthy as you want, switch out the starch and protein and include the veggies that you prefer. It’s perfect for a throw together dinner; just use whatever you have lying around the kitchen.

What is more fun - Running or Blogging? (HaHa this could be a tough one)
Definitely a tough question! They are fun in different ways – I love running because I can relax and unwind, but also push myself to limits I didn’t know I could reach. Whereas with blogging is fun because I feel the desire to affect change for women and it’s exciting to come up with and write posts that I know will be helpful and well received.



What are your future plans as far as being fit and healthy is concerned and for WillRunForFood?

My future plans are to keep running, further my education and get WillRunForFood on the map. While running will always be something I have now, the most important aspect of my future is educating myself more in nutrition and health. While I have expansive knowledge to share, I want to bring more value to my brand and my readers.























Why don't you give some tips to our readers about leading a healthy life.

My top three pieces of advice are:

Do what makes you happy – Always. There are so many ways to be healthy other than the cookie-cutter gym and running routine.

Do what fits within your schedule – If you want to start working out in the mornings, but you’re not a morning person, you never will. Don’t change your schedule for the workout; change your workout for your schedule.

Hold yourself accountable – You won’t get or stay healthy unless you truly want to. If you can’t hold yourself accountable, then who else can?


Thank you Jes for taking the time for this inspirational interview. We wish you and WillRunForFood the very best for the future. :)

You can read more about Jess at:

Website
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