 As our Arete family grows to new locations, we are committed to bringing dynamic, inclusive run lovers as Team Leaders to your city.
We are thrilled to open a new chapter in 2018 under the leadership of Stephanie Gallinetti in the San Francisco Peninsula region .Take a few moments to learn more about her and why she’s thrilled to start a new chapter.
*Stephanie will be leading a run, chat & coffee October 28th. Meet at 8am at Sawyer Camp Trail for a fun run at your pace. Coffee & chat post-run to learn about Arete San Francisco Peninsula team launching in 2018.
Tell us a little about yourself:
Hello! I live in San Bruno with my husband, Tom, and our two pups Nelson and Madison. I am a flight attendant with Virgin America and also a fitness coach. I love to travel and explore new places, even new places in our own backyard here in California. If I could eat sushi and fro-yo everyday I would! And of course I LOVE running, racing, and meeting new friends who love this too! What’s your favorite part of running in the SF Peninsula?
My favorite part about running in the Peninsula is the many different places and terrain to train on. The bay, the ocean, trails, paved paths, tracks, neighborhoods and many many hills are all nearby. You are also never alone; it seems like runners are everywhere here! The weather is usually pretty ideal running weather, too.
Why were you inspired to start a SF Peninsula Arete Team?
I had been thinking about starting a running group for a while now. I think there are some good teams, especially for beginners, but they just didn’t seem to fit me personally. I felt like our community here on the Peninsula could use a new group, particularly an all women’s team, that would meet for long runs, early runs and track workouts with a fresh outlook. I saw a friend from Chico post about Arete and I immediately asked her about it and how she got started. The no drama, competitive, fun Arete team that was already growing to more parts of California seemed liked the perfect opportunity for us here on the SF Peninsula, too!  How has your relationship with running and team evolved over the years?
Running has been a part of my life since I can remember. Starting with track and field in grammar and middle school when my Dad was the head track coach. It kind of “runs in the family” you could say. High school cross country was when I truly was introduced to the idea of running as a team sport. The special bond and friendships that were created were so amazing. We used that bond to help each other through workouts, running camps, state meets and everything in-between..boyfriend’s prom dates you name it! We are all still friends to this day because of the ties running created. College was another awesome time to meet friends through track and field at Chico State. Being an 800 meter runner and training mostly year-round with the same group of guys and gals was so much fun! Again, we went through not only running triumphs and falls together, but life as well. After college I started to miss running and decided that training for a half marathon would be a fun way to keep it up and boy was I right! This led to many many more half marathons since then, tons of 10ks and 5ks, a few triathlons, a tough mudder and spartan (ouch!), and 3 full marathons. Since 2010 I have not been on a team of any kind, just running with friends on occasion, oh and my dog, Nelson is a great running buddy too! I did however coach high school cross country and track from 2010-2014. Seeing these young people form similar bonds and coaching them was such a wonderful experience.
My relationship with running has been overwhelmingly positive. With just a few injuries over the past 20 years I can’t complain. Each training cycle and race I try and set realistic goals, make a plan (or follow a plan) and get to it. Being competitive with myself is a huge part of my running career and it makes each day a new fun challenge. Of course I love my easy run days, too! One of my favorite part of long easy runs is chatting and catching up with my sister or friends during the run. Last year my sister and I were training for CIM before my wedding. She was my MOH and we seriously got the most wedding planning details covered during our long runs! so fun!
 Why is it important to you to lead a runner girl squad?
I think every woman needs their squad. Us runners need our runner girl squad for those early morning meet ups, motivation to get out there and do a long run, others to sweat with on the track, many miles of laughs and of course post-run coffee dates. I really want to help create a squad that the SF Peninsula runner girls need. I want to lead strong women who want to work hard and motivated each other to achieve their goals while having fun a long the way. Any run is better with company!
What are you most excited about for Arete SF Peninsula 2018?
I am SO excited about 2018 and our Arete SF Peninsula runner girl squad! I know it will be awesome and I am most looking forward to finding those right people who want to join and have similar mentalities about running, competing, having fun and working hard while creating some life-long friendships in our little running community. I know there are a lot of women out there that have been on teams in the past and are looking for that comradery again. Also, a lot of women who are new to running and would like a team to join to start building those relationships and comradery together. The running community is so unique and I am so excited to see it come together here on the Peninsula with some amazing women!
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie! If you live in the San Francisco Peninsula region, are an intermediate runner, and want to be a part of the women’s running team movement that’s taking over California, be sure to show up October 28th, 8am at Sawyer Camp Trail for the inaugural pre-season fun run, raffle, and coffee!
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**P.s. Wondering about the Peninsula boundary lines? If you live in one of these areas, count yourself in! South San Francisco, Daly City, San Bruno, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, Foster City, Redwood City, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Los Altos, Palo Alto
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