Enjoying the Journey
Jackpot Ultra – Las Vegas
I
credit my son for the “Ultra Bug”… when he was nine years old, he asked me to
take him to the High School Track so he could practice running a timed mile as
part of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. As I watched him run around
and around, I wondered if I could finish a mile nonstop… so I gave it a try and
low and behold, not only did I finish, I felt like I could run forever. And so
the story goes, an Ultrarunner (in the making) was born that day. Long story
short, I raced every distance from 5k’s to Marathons, but something
was missing… I longed to run farther… and a new journey into Ultrarunning
began.
I
craved knowledge, so when I wasn’t running, I was reading. I literally
read every book about Ultrarunning on the shelf at Barnes and Noble; I watched
and re-watched Ultra Documentaries… my favorite being “Running On The
Sun”, the journey following competitors through the Badwater 135
Mile Race across Death Valley; I joined Facebook to connect with other
Ultrarunners who I could follow, share and learn from.
Amongst running royalty - Ready to race!
Locally,
I joined the “St. Louis Ultrarunners Group” (SLUGS) and became an Officer/
Board Member of the BEST Ultra Group on EARTH!! Okay, I may be just a bit
biased.
My running “bestie”
Race
wise, I have been fortunate to Podium and earn several Age Group
wins; including the “Eastern Missouri Ultra Series Award” First Place
- Senior Female of the Year with consecutive wins for 2014, 2015, 2016 and
2017. As I gained success in the sport, I became an Athlete Ambassador for
“Headsweats”, the maker of cutting edge Performance Headwear
which ROCKS!! All in all, the best part of Ultrarunning is
truly the friendships I have made.
Case
in point, I had the pleasure of being with the “Smiles for Miles - Walking
Diva”, Yolanda Holder, on Day One of the Sri Chinmoy 3100 mile race. What
an honor to share in Yolanda’s journey… It’s crazy good to have friends all
over the world who are bound together by the love of all things Ultra.
Honored to receive
the EMUS (Eastern Missouri Ultra Series) Award-First Place Senior Female for
2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017!
-Susan-
No comments:
Post a Comment