Motivation For Miles
Hingham entrepreneur Cindy Smith designs products that inspire and uplift fellow runners.
Written by JENNIFER H. MCINERNEY
Photography by KJELD MAHONEY
For Cindy Smith, running started out as a means of stress relief, but it eventually sparked an idea that inspired her to become a creative entrepreneur.
Growing up in New York City’s Chinatown, Smith always felt destined for a career in the Big Apple’s storied banking industry. After graduating from Boston University in 2005, she pursued her intended path, only to find the work environment stuffy and not at all diverse. After this experience, she searched for careers that were exciting and innovative at companies that were diverse and appreciative of their employees. Soon after, she landed her dream job at Google and set out for California.
Working for a leader at the forefront of the technology revolution brought her the
excitement, professional challenge, and benefits she’d been seeking. At Google,
Smith worked on the implementation of some of the company’s principal products: Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. But the long hours and inability to unplug from the ongoing demands of her job eventually took their toll.
Naturally, Smith turned to Google’s now-legendary search engine to find a remedy for her burnout. The results intrigued her: one of the top hits in her area was to run a half-marathon over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Smith, who up until that point had never run so much as a block in her life, imagined herself embarking on this adventure, traversing the San Francisco landmark propelled by her own physical power, determination and stamina.
“I decided it was what I wanted to do and it became my goal,” Smith recalls.
To begin, she ran one lap, and then another, around a small man-made pond in her community, repeating the exercise until she could complete a distance of one mile. “Every day, I’d do a little bit more and go farther and farther.”
In those days preceding the advent of training and tracking apps for aspiring athletes, Smith developed her own training plan to increase her runs from 1 mile to 10 miles over a period of six months. The thrilling experience of running her first half-marathon over the Golden Gate Bridge solidified Smith’s devotion to her new sport. “From that moment on, I was hooked,” she says.
Smith has since run five marathons—New York City (twice), Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Napa Valley—as well as numerous half-marathons, 10K, and 5K races. The Boston Marathon is on her list for the future.
After working for five years at Google, the newly minted runner opted to change course. She went to work for two different startups, first The Climate Corporation and then Upstart, while continuing to train and run. She also took up calligraphy and lettering and began offering her services to brides and grooms in need of artfully addressed envelopes for wedding invitations and hand-lettered wedding place cards. Along the way, Smith also found herself drawn to creating running-related images and messages. During the Covid shutdown, Smith launched Pen and Paces. and began offering original running-related and marathon-themed greeting cards and stickers
for sale online.
The Pen and Paces product line has become increasingly popular, and now includes more than 50 stickers, a dozen greeting cards for various occasions, apparel (sweatshirts, tanks, socks), and gifts (coffee mugs, marathon maps, and more).
Among the most popular items are her patent-pending Yell My Name! Race Bib Topper Kits. These comprehensive kits provide weather- and tear-proof materials for personalizing a marathon race bib with the runner’s name, so that spectators can yell out their name and encourage them as they make their way along the 26.2-mile route. Another Pen and Paces bestseller is a durable, weather-proof running shoe travel bag (including one with a fun donut motif), made especially for transporting sneakers to and from races.
Seeking once again to adjust her work-life balance, Smith and her husband moved to Hingham two years ago to be closer to family and start a family of their own. Here, she found a new community of runners in the Hingham- based Harbor Running Club, which meets weekly at Brewed Awakenings. Together, runners and walkers of different paces set off on various local scenic routes, including Bare Cove, Turkey Hill, and World’s End.
“The accessible nature of running is appealing,” she notes. “It helps you to de-stress and gets you outside in nature. The running community is very supportive.”
For Smith, who trains four to five days a week on average, Wompatuck State Park is her go-to running spot, which is easily accessible to her neighborhood and offers 40 miles of forest trails. “I love it because there’s so much scenery in just one run,” she says. She also enjoys running at Crow Point and the harbor at sunrise. “Running by the yacht club at that time, the colors of the sky and the backdrop of the water are stunning. You can see Boston on a clear day.”
The accessible nature of running is appealing. It helps you to de-stress and gets you outside in nature. The running community is very supportive.
— CINDY SMITH