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Heels and Hills "Lucky 13" Run Team - 2011 Season The "Lucky 13" Run Team is filled with happy, friendly people who also happen to run or walk. They are ambassadors to show others Heels and Hills’ core vision, staying active in a fun and unintimidating atmosphere, with a friendly personality, warmness, and positive attitude! The Lucky 13 members get a Heels and Hills Run Team tech shirt and a social held each year with all members of the Run Team where they can meet, mix, and mingle with new and veteran Run Team members. They have the pride of being part of a select group and fun socializing with other runners and walkers. In August 2010, we appointed 13 members to the 2011 season, which spans the full year of 2011, of the Heels and Hills Run Team. 2011 Season - Team Members Bios Click on a team member's name
I started running in October 2009 after a sweet friend encouraged me to sign up for a class that trains you for a 5k. I had always despised the thought of running, but after the first few weeks of class I was bitten by the running bug and have been running ever since. Heels and Hills will always hold a special spot in my heart because when I was training for my first 10k, their May 2010 race; it proved to me that I could do more than a 5k if I put my mind to it. I felt so encouraged by everyone that day that I knew I wanted to continue pushing myself even more. I am currently training for my first marathon that I will run in December 2010! Part of what keeps me excited about running is encouraging others along the way – I currently coach a beginners running class at a local running store, and I love meeting new people at the beginning of each session and watching them progress to completing their first 5k. Whether you are first or last, training for a 5k or a 50 mile ultra – running has a place for all of us and I am so thankful to be a part of this active lifestyle! I started running in the 70s to combat "fat" genetics and teenage angst. I found it good for the soul and continued running as part of an overall fitness plan as an adult. Due to arthritis most of my "runs" are now either on trails or fast walking on pavement. I am an independent personal trainer and always try to stay active. I enjoy participating in the running/walking community, operate a web site dedicated to the sport of walking, and organize a local training group for walkers. My goals for 2011 include keeping my walking pace down to a a 12:00 minute mile for short distance races, maintaining a minimum of 100 miles a month, and completing several races ranging from 20k to 50k. I am excited to be a part of the Heels and Hills team and love how they support walkers and runners of all levels. My name is Elaine, age 33, mother to a toddler, and I represent all the Athena ladies out there who weigh more than 150lbs. I call myself Super Athena because I am so past 150lbs, yet I still run and have been doing so since 2001! I fell in love with running after my first race in 2002 and after 38 races, I’m more passionate and excited about the sport that changed my life! It saved me from chest pains, laziness, and apathy! Now I feel alive, I've completed 7 half marathons, and I'm training for my first full marathon this December….and all while staying true to my 11-12 minute per mile pace. I found a running “family” when I starting running with Heels and Hills in 2009. The encouraging, loving, and supportive atmosphere found at every event pushed me to be more of a risk-taker with my running and helped me find a community that I could run alongside. Heels and Hills helped me find the athlete that lived inside of me and allowed her to break free! I was one of those people people who swore that they would never run--I didn't like it, it didn't feel good, and I just didn't see the point. I had attended fitness classes at my gym for years and considered that to be enough activity for me. My husband started running a year before me and I would think he was crazy as I watched him head off for his Sunday long runs. However, one day I decided that I wanted to do "something hard" because my life was relatively under control and I was cruising through it with no big challenges. I started running and never looked back, I was HOOKED! I ran my 1st 5K on July 4, 2008 and since have completed 14 half marathons and countless 5, 10, and 15Ks. I am working on my first 1,000 mile year and plan to run 10 half marathons this year. One of the best things about running is the amazing community that it fosters. I love that the Heels and Hills group has found a home within this community and that I have found a home within Heels and Hills. Running has changed my life and now I love to share that energy with those around me. I want everyone to see what a difference being active can make in their lives. My name is Nancy Kittrell. I like to run. I do not run fast. My philosophy about running has changed after a hip injury which required intense physical therapy and being told I should never run a marathon again. I could not accept that, so I did some research and found out that there is a run/walk combination that many formerly injured runners have used to run a marathon. i tried it when I trained for my first Heels and Hills Half Marathonand my hip has never hurt again. I enjoyed the race and the non-competitive atmosphere if you are not at the front of the pack. We all had fun and finished with a smile and a sense of accomplishment. It was the most fun race I ever did and was happy to sign up for another race. I encourage other runners to sign up for a H and H run because it has a less intimidating atmosphere. It keeps me in shape and injury free. Best of all I can still say I run because its fun!! My walking experience started as I was losing weight and needed something to keep me motivated. In 2006 a friend mentioned she was training for the Big D half marathon and I thought it would be fun, so I started training on the weekends with her four weeks before the event. Since then, I have completed about 14 half marathons and hope to complete at least 3 more half marathons between September and the end of 2010. I previously spent a lot of my time in the gym, but I cancelled my gym membership and now pound the pavement rain or shine. I would eventually like to run, but my inner runner isn’t really all that interested in coming out right now. I became a Heels and Hills “fan-addict” after participating in the half marathon in 2008 and was so impressed because there were real, visible, and approachable people organizing the events. And…it’s fun. I joined a couch to 5k program in May of 2009 as a result of constant nudging from a co-worker. I thought that once I completed this program, I would just run 10-12 miles a week to keep fit and keep my weight down, nothing more. I started running with friends that lived around me and it was really cool because we could run at 4 am and be done with it for the day. My friends were going to run a race Sept '09 with Heels and Hills and I figured why not join them, a 5k won't hurt. That was my first interaction with H&H and it was great. I didn't feel the pressure of having to run really fast or break any records. I love that H&H was all about women being active in whatever capacity to accomplish their own goals in a fun and unintimidating environment. It's the "can do" attitude and "you don't have to go fast, you just have to go" that keeps me active and gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. I ran the White Rock marathon relay Dec. 09 with the H&H team (amazing women) and I can't begin to tell you the impact it had on me and my life spiritually and physically. I was so overwhelmed of what I could do and anyone can do when they commit to something (even if it's walking). Amazing things happen to those that "do". I ran my first 1/2 marathon April 2010 and thought it would be the only one I would do. In July, I ran El Scorcho, a 15.5 mile midnight run which was a great experience for me. I will be running the Women's Nike race in San Francisco in October (because my daughter wants the Tiffany necklace, funny but true). My goal after October is to run one or two more 1/2 marathons by the end of the year. I also signed up for the 1/1/11 half marathon. I guess I will be running for a lot more days than I originally planned, but I guess I can say it's pretty awesome to know I am doing what I like to do, at my own pace and still keeping fit and healthy. Another great benefit of running is all the friends I have met and the countless encouragement that I have received from "everyone" I know. One of my goals is to finish every run and race I start. It is an honor to be a Lucky 13 member of the H&H team and if I can be half the encourager that others were to me, I will see others like me, flourish in their active life style and that will be awesome. I love to run. I had run off and on most of my adult life but never really steady. After I had my daughter, Danielle (9), I realized that I did not want someone else to see all her firsts, so I quit an awesome job as a Trust Officer at the bank, and became a "stay at home" mom. Well, the baby weight did not come off and one day I got on the treadmill at my YMCA. I had never run on a treadmill, only outside, but decided to try this new equipment. I was instantly enamored. I worked my way up to running 6 miles so I could run the local Turkey Trot. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, I upped my mileage too quick, I didn't run in the correct shoes, I did not hydrate well, you name it, I did it wrong. I joined my local running club and decided to run Chicago Marathon as my first full marathon. I ran through my last 2 pregnancies. I ran up until the day before I had the boys. I ran the May 2008 Heels and Hills less than 3 weeks before I had Noah. I have run quite a few half marathons and several marathons as "firsts" with friends. I realize that sometimes, a distance of say 13 miles sounds daunting to a person who has never run very far. Sometimes, they need someone, anyone, to say, yes, you can do it, come on, I will do it with you. It is nice to be that person. It brings so much joy to take that journey with someone, across all those miles, to be there for them when they have doubts, to put your own needs aside and take care of another runner. I am the treasurer for the Fort Worth Runners Club, race director for the Labor Day race and a chairman for The Cowtown Marathon. I love to volunteer and give back to the sport that has given so much to me. You know what I like about Heels and Hills? Women. Really, that simple and that complex. Women. Women helping other women get active. Women joining together and running together for the same purpose. So many times it is all about being competitive and that is fine too, but when I line up at Heels and Hills race, I smell Bath and Body works instead of sweat. I started running in 1990 when I was 12. I joined Manchester Harriers Athletic Club in my home-town in England. We trained on Tuesdays and Thursdays and competed in cross country and track on the weekend and I loved it. After I graduated from college, I moved to Texas, was married and had two children (now 6 and 8). Things got really busy between family and work, and running got put on the back burner for a while. I registered to run a half marathon in April of 2009 it was rained out by a storm and rescheduled to September, about that time I developed a stress fracture in my pelvis and had to stop running for several weeks. I was disappointed but I was not going to give up. On my 32nd Birthday I checked the box ‘full marathon’ on the training program application and told everyone I knew I was going to do it to keep me accountable. In December of 2009 the White Rock Marathon was upon us and I was so excited and nervous. When life gets stressful I know I have my sacred running time be it alone as the sun is coming up or running with a group as the sun sets. I love being a mom and a runner! I started walking in September 2007 and trained for my first half marathon, which I completed in December 2007. After that event, I kept walking, then started running in about March 2008. I participated in the “Love the Half” challenge and have now completed 6 half marathons and a host of 5K and 10K events. I plan on completing 3 more half marathons by the end of this year. With every mile I have walked or ran, I felt stronger and gained self confidence and motivation. Since I have gained so much more confidence, I have become more outgoing and have began encouraging family and friends to lead a more active lifestyle. I am currently studying to become a certified personal training and I am a mentor for a running class at RunOn! I've always believed in the importance of fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and I grew up playing sports - running was part of athletic workouts, but I was not the "runner". In the summer of 2008, a friend knew I wanted a new athletic challenge, and encouraged me to get involved in triathlon, so I entered my first sprint tri. The race was awesome, but I felt like I needed to improve my run time and decided to train for a half marathon.Since July, 2008 I have competed in about 16 different races - 5 triathlons, 4 half marathons and 7 5K's, including several H&H races - an organization I love because of it's commitment to improving women's fitness levels. I have a personal goal of completing at least 10 races during this calendar year and my first full marathon in January, 2011. I compete for myself, not for times or PR's, and only because I enjoy it! I hope to encourage and motivate my family (I even convinced my husband to do a half marathon with me this year & my 9 year old daughter has participated in 3 5K's with me already), my students, friends & colleagues by modeling a commitment to fitness and a healthy lifestyle.I'm not a fast or elite runner, I'm just a working mom that enjoys getting out there and being active. I hope to inspire others to join me along the way! I know a lot of people look at me and think by my appearance that they know my story but they are not correct. I am not a cancer survivor. I have Alopecia and that is why I wear a bandana everywhere. Three years ago, my 43 year old brother passed away after bypass surgery. I started running in January of ’09 to make my heart healthy. Since starting in January of ’09, I have done around 10 5Ks, 3 half marathons and the 8 mile Turkey Trot. Currently I am on day 26 of an activity streak of 45 minutes per day of activity that includes boot camp, running, walking and yoga. I did my first major run back in 2002. It was the Big D run, a 30K. I will admit, I did not train properly for it, and decided to focus on 5K's after that. Slowly, the 5K's inspired me to do 10K's, followed by 15 and 20K's. My first half marathon was the DRC's half marathon in November 2007...and ever since it has become my favorite distance and I am hooked! Since then I have run 17 half marathons and two 18 milers, and various other runs.
Last revised January 18, 2011 |
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