I ran across these pictures a few weeks ago while digging through old marathon pictures. The follow story still makes me smile whenever I think about it…
Ginger had never been a runner, but decided that she would like to add that to her exercise routine. She was a big fan of Jazzercise, which she did regularly, so she was already in pretty good shape. Soon after she started running, she set her sights on participating in the 2002 Senior Olympics, specifically the 50, 100 and 200 meter sprints.
Ginger inquired with the personal training director at Worldgate Sport and Health about hiring a running coach and was teamed up with moi. We started out by doing strengthening exercises to increase her leg strength and working on her running form at the indoor track at the gym. We also met at the local high school track to work on her starting form since she was participating in sprints.
In order to qualify for the National Senior Olympics, Ginger needed to run under a specific time or metal to go forward . Not only did she medal, but she got three golds!
Ginger called me from her hotel room after winning her three gold medals and when she told me how well she had done, I screamed so loudly that she said her husband could hear me from across the room! It was a happy moment for me indeed! I was so very proud of Ginger’s hard work and accomplishments!
After winning three state gold medals, Ginger went back to working full time. Even though she had registered for Nationals, she didn’t go that year because she no longer had time to train properly and didn’t have the confidence to participate.
After that season, Ginger qualified for Nationals a few more times, but never got more than second place at States (still a huge accomplishment). She went on to participate in several Nationals!
Ginger recently sent me a note saying, “Before the States competition, you gave me confidence that I could achieve!”
Just last weekend a got a note from Ginger. She told me that her granddaughter, a senior in high school, had just gotten a full cross country and academic scholarship for next year! Ginger went on to say that her granddaughter had been greatly influenced as a little girl when Ginger ran in the Senior Olympics; and wanted to become a runner just like her grandma. And look where it’s taken her! Congratulations to both of these amazing ladies!
- Questions:
- Did you run track or cross country in high school or college?
- Does your gym have an indoor track? ~ I miss the indoor track at Worldgate. I loved training clients on it.
- What are your long term fitness goals?
Awe, what a sweet, sweet story! Congrats to Ginger and to her grand-daughter. What a fabulous story and I hope we get to hear one day how she does in college competitions 🙂 I only use indoor tracks when I absolutely need to. They are so short, they make me dizzy.
That indoor track was twelve laps for a mile. One time after a snow storm, Bill and I needed to do a twenty mile training run so we ran ten miles on treadmills, then ran 120 laps on the track! O. M. G. was that boring!
Ohhh, what a fabulous story! Thanks for sharing. I love that her granddaughter was inspired to start running because of her accomplishments! And you had a big part in that!! I ran cross country and track in high school. I didn’t run competitively in college, but my husband and I re-caught the running bug shortly after we got married.
I’m so glad I ran across the pictures so I could write about it!
Such a great story! What a great impact Ginger had on her granddaughter. And what an impact you had on Ginger, giving her the confidence to compete! I have never run track or cross country. I grew up as a swimmer, and I always competed in the sprint distances (50m, 100m, 200m). I loved the adrenaline rush and the way my heart would pound when I was up on the starting block about to take my mark. And i absolutely loved hitting the water and going as fast as I could. I imagine competing in sprint events on the track gives you that same kind of rush.
I was thrilled when Ginger told me that her granddaughter’s running was influenced by Ginger’s Senior Olympics accomplishments, and so happy to hear about the scholarship!
No, congratulations to you for not only coaching Ginger but ultimately a future generation. That must feel great and you should be so proud!
Thanks; it was a team effort, but ultimately Ginger ran the winning race that had such a great impact on her granddaughter! 🙂
That’s an awesome story! Great job, Ginger!
I never ran in school. In fact, when I did play sports growing up (from a very early age) I always hated when we had to run laps around the various fields I played on as a warm-up. LOL I played soccer, softball and basketball though, so there was always going to be some sort of running involved.
I can only afford Planet Fitness and no, they definitely do not have an indoor track. That would be AWESOME though! I don’t actually know of any gyms near me that have one. If I need a track, we can use our local high school track outside.
The only fitness-related goals I have right now are to complete a half marathon and finish a Tough Mudder in 2014. I’d like to be more fit overall, which is what I’m working on, but those are the actual goals I have right now.
Those are great goals!
My university had a 200 meter track. Talk about a dizzy-fest. Ugh….
This is the second time today someone has asked me about my long-term fitness goals. Guess this really is a sign…better get working on that!!
Our indoor track was 12 laps for a mile, which meant the corners were very banked… but I still liked running on it sometimes!
Wow, Debbie… what an amazing success story. Way to go, Ginger. I’m sure she is super proud of her granddaughter. 🙂
I ran track in high school. For awhile, I thought I might be a truly excellent high jumper. It ended up that I was very good, but not as good as I thought I might end up. Ah, well!
Long term fitness goals. Hm. I’m going to be thinking about those this weekend for sure!