The streets of NYC must have missed Stephanie Tuerk this September. A self-proclaimed "urbanist," Tuerk had dutifully stamped a path through the boroughs since finding her love of running here several summers ago. (She even achieved her goal of crossing every footbridge with pedestrian access into and out of Manhattan.) But as of September 1st, Tuerk began striding through the streets of Cambridge and Boston.

"I moved to Boston to start a PhD in Architecture at MIT," says Tuerk. "My eventual goal is to become a tenured professor, most likely in a school of architecture." At 28, Tuerk already has a laudable academic resume that includes an undergraduate degree from Stanford and a graduate degree from Yale.

And her ambition and competitive drive has clearly translated beautifully into the running arena. After joining Front Runners in 2004, she quickly became a consistent top performer, winning the 2005 points award for her age group at the annual club night this past January. Often the top female finishing for the team, Tuerk has piled on the PRs in the past year, running her first marathon in a Boston-qualifying 3:34:22 and racing at sub-7:00 pace at races up to 10K. She even gained automatic entry into the NYC marathon for 2007 by running the Queens half in 1:36:06. (The qualifying time for women her age is 1:37:00).

And to think that up until a few years ago, Tuerk had yet to harness her fast-twitch fibers. "Growing up I somehow felt like I would never be the type of runner who could run much faster than eight minute miles," she admits. "But once I realized that wasn't true, I got excited to use races as a way to continually find more potential."

Running moved from being a component of her lacrosse training in high school and college to a serious extracurricular when Tuerk came to Manhattan the summer after her first year of graduate school. Subletting an apartment by Columbia University, Tuerk knew few people and used running as a vehicle to discover the vast landscape of the city. "I would run down Broadway from 125th to anywhere between Times Square and South Ferry," she says. "I realized I had been running enough to complete a half marathon, so I signed up for the Manhattan Half."

As Tuerk partook in more and more NYRR races, she noticed legions of uniformed Front Runners and figured she "may as well be racing with a team jersey on." (Note to reader: Wear your singlets at all times! Buy an extra or two so you won't have to constantly wash them.) Audra Farrell encouraged Tuerk to don the old blue and orange, and her connection to the team deepened ever since. At the beginning of 2006, Tuerk volunteered to be a race captain and has lovingly supported her teammates by promoting race participation and chronicling team accomplishments in weekly race reports.

So what's ahead for Tuerk? You definitely haven't seen the last of her. She will be racing this year's NYC marathon with a goal of breaking 3:30 so be sure to give her a generous shout-out and a cup of cold water at the 24-mile station. As for training, she hasn't looked beyond November 5th as yet, but would like to keep a connection to Front Runners even while in Boston. "I have really loved being around other people who are serious about running," says Tuerk. "And learning from the many, many years of experience the club members so generously share."

Yes, leaving is always bittersweet, but Tuerk has cast her eye toward the virgin footpaths of the future. And there are plenty of those flanking the Charles - replete with myriad pedestrian crossings. Of course, there's also that famously difficult trail that boasts of being America's oldest marathon. Tuerk plans to toe the Hopkinton line in April 2008.