About Angela Campos

Welcome to Marathons & Motivation

Hi, I'm Angela Campos - a Registered Nurse with over 25 years of clinical experience, a home cook, a lifelong athlete, and the person behind every recipe and wellness post on this site.

I started this blog in 2015, but my story really begins much earlier than that.

From the YMCA Pool to the Ironman Finish Line

When I was 13 years old, I was a track runner and competitive swimmer at my local YMCA with one big dream: becoming an Ironman. Life had other plans for a while - nursing school, a career in critical care, raising a family. It was a full and wonderful season, but something always felt like it was missing.

In 2011, I crossed the finish line of a local sprint triathlon and was flooded with memories of that 13-year-old girl and the dream she had quietly set aside. I knew immediately I had to see it through. In August 2015, I became an Ironman at Mont Tremblant. One of the proudest moments of my life.

The Chapter I Haven't Talked About - Until Now

In 2021, my life changed in a way I haven't fully shared here, and it's time I did.

I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and underwent major cervical spine surgery after coming dangerously close to paralysis. As a nurse, I understood exactly what I was facing - which was both a gift and an incredibly sobering thing to sit with. The recovery was long, the adjustment was real, and the version of athletic life I had built my identity around was permanently changed.

I don't compete in Ironman triathlons or marathons anymore. But I want to be clear: I did not stop. I swim, run, ride my Peloton, and play tennis several times a week. I have simply learned to listen to my body in a deeper, more honest way than I ever did training for a race. Movement looks different now - and I actually think it's a more sustainable and truthful version of the wellness message I want to share on this blog.

That experience, layered on top of 25 years as a nurse, is a big part of why the health and wellness content here carries the weight it does. I write from a place of real clinical knowledge and real personal experience - including the hard kind. I know what it feels like to be the patient. I know what it means to rebuild. And I know that health is not a single finish line.

What Makes This Blog Different

I am a nurse first. I spent over two decades in clinical settings - critical care, preventative medicine, patient education - before I ever wrote a recipe post. That background shapes everything I publish here.

When I write about nutrition, hydration, healthy habits, or wellness topics, I'm not drawing on trends. I'm drawing on 25+ years of real clinical experience and a career spent helping people make informed, sustainable choices about their health.

That doesn't mean everything here is clinical. I'm a home cook feeding a busy family in Maine, a tennis player, a mom whose college-age son regularly out-cooks me, and someone who genuinely believes that good food and consistent movement are two of the most powerful tools we have. The recipes are real, family-tested food. The wellness content is nurse-backed and honest.

You can trust what you read here - because someone with real credentials and real-life experience wrote it.

A Little More About Me

I live in Maine with my husband Dan. My daughter Carly is a talented dancer and an excellent baker - she's been my sidekick in the kitchen helping develop and taste-test recipes for my upcoming cookbook, and honestly her palate is better than mine. My son Ben is in college and has developed a serious passion for cooking, especially ethnic cuisine - he's my most enthusiastic recipe tester when he's home. I've been blogging since 2015 and have built a library of 700+ tested recipes alongside years of health and wellness content I'm genuinely proud of.