Cindy Kuzma is a freelance writer, author, and podcaster in Chicago. She first moved there to earn her master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Once she saw the Lakefront Trail, she decided to stay. There, she’s trained for and completed 23 marathons, including seven in Boston.

Her six years working for medical journals taught her the way around a research paper; now, she’s fascinated by exercise science and how findings in the lab can help everyday athletes improve their performance, prevent injury, and live healthier lives. She also writes frequently about elite runners and Paralympic competitors; everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things; health and medical news; and the active community in Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.

Cindy writes regularly for Runner’s World, Women’s Running magazine, SELF, and more. She’s also written for Chicago magazine, Men’s Health, University of Illinois alumni publications, The New York Times, Outside online, Health.com, EatingWell, Women’s Health, Prevention, VICE, USA Today magazines, and many other digital and print outlets. She also has audio experience—she’s contributed to podcasts for Runner’s World and now co-hosts The Injured Athletes Club podcast, and is helping produce Starting Line 1928, an oral history project documenting the lived experiences of female distance running pioneers (and the proud recipient of a 2022 Tracksmith Fellowship).

Her latest book Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart, with coach/elite athlete Neely Spence Gracey, was published in April 2022 by Human Kinetics. She’s also the co-author of Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, with mental skills coach Carrie Jackson, published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Sport. Together, they host The Injured Athletes Club podcast and moderate The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group.

Cindy is also the coauthor, with her husband Matt Kuzma, of Marathon Spectator Guide—aimed to help those who, like Matt, tirelessly follow their runners around 26.2-mile courses—and also contributed to The Superfood Swap: The 4-Week Plan to Eat What You Crave Without the C.R.A.P., by Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D.N.

She’s a member of The American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Association for Women Journalists – Chicago. And, she’s certified as a running coach by the Road Runners Club of America and USA Track & Field (Level 1).

 

photo: Alice Xiao