Erin Azar (born 1983 or 1984), also known as Mrs. Space Cadet, is an American runner and social media personality.

Erin Azar
Personal information
NicknameMrs. Space Cadet
NationalityAmerican
Born1983 or 1984 (age 40–41)
Kempton, Pennsylvania
Websitehttps://www.mrsspacecadet.com/
TikTok information
Page
Followers855.8K
Likes36.9M

Last updated: Apr 24, 2023
Sport
SportRunning

Early life

edit

Azar is from Kempton, Pennsylvania.[1]

Social media career

edit

Azar started running a few months after giving birth to her third child.[1][2][3] Her first goal was to run for 30 days.[1] Her goal later increased to running a marathon within a year.[1] She started documenting her runs online soon after starting running;[1][4] she started on YouTube and later moved to TikTok[5] in order to find a community for her to fit into.[2][6] She made videos because she couldn't find any 'realistic running' videos online.[1][2] On her social media, she invited her followers to join her, a "slightly overweight person who drinks too much beer"[2][3][4] and "an expert struggle runner",[2] as she trained for a marathon.[2][4] She quickly became popular, and her first video has over 1 million views as of November 2021.[2][7] She has 696,300 followers and 26 million likes[1][6] on TikTok as of November 2021.[1][4]

Through her popularity, she has managed to raise more than US$76,000 to the Michael J. Fox Foundation as of November 2021.[1][4][6] She hoped to eventually raise US$100,000.[1][2]

Running career

edit

Azar ran the 2021 New York City Marathon.[1][2][4][6] She completed the course in 6 hours and 8 minutes.[1] She decided to run in a marathon after seeing the 2021 New Jersey Marathon cancelled in August 2021.[2] In 2022 she ran the Chicago Marathon.[8]

Personal life

edit

She lives in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.[3][5] She is married and has three children.[2][3][4] Her oldest child was born in 2013 or 2014 (age 10–11).[2]

Her father, Jim Gaffney, has Parkinson's disease.[2][6] She left her marketing job in order to pursue running full-time.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mitchell, Lisa (2021-11-16). "TikTok star from Berks County completes New York City Marathon". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pasquini, Maria (2021-11-02). "TikTok Star and Viral 'Struggle Runner' Taking on NYC Marathon: 'Hopefully I Can Cross the Finish Line'". People. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  3. ^ a b c d Hohman, Maura (2021-09-22). "Mom of 3 becomes unlikely TikTok star after posting journey to train for marathon". Today. NBC. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Minsberg, Talya (2021-11-07). "TikTok's running hero, Mrs. Space Cadet, competes in her first marathon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  5. ^ a b Acosta, Nicole (2021-09-23). "Viral Pennsylvania TikToker Shines On 'TODAY Show'". Berks Daily Voice. Daily Voice. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hines, Ree (2021-11-08). "TikTok's favorite mom completes NYC Marathon: 'I felt like a superstar'". Today. NBC. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  7. ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Deirdre (2021-10-15). "PODCAST: How to care less about what others think with TikTok star Mrs. Space Cadet". KCRA 3. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  8. ^ Lee, Jinnie. "This TikTok Runner Went Viral For Finding Shorts That Don't Ride Up". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.