What’s your story?
Maybe you came to sport late.
You found it in the gym or the studio.
Maybe you discovered it early, on a court or a course.
Maybe it’s walking, maybe it’s running, maybe it’s dance or yoga or swimming or hiking. Maybe you found your sport when you saw your daughter transformed by that first athletic success and knew that your own transformation was out there waiting for you. Maybe you found it on your way to something else—a kid’s practice, a healthier life, a friend’s race. But no matter where each of our sports stories begins, we all end up at the same place, a place where we are becoming our own best selves.
Tell us your story!
Founder, Missy Park
At 55 I feel better than ever, running 20 miles a week and lifting weights on the off days. I swam and ran as a kid but when my own kids came, that got put on the back burner. At age 51 I realized it was now or never and the rest is history. I love my 50’s, my head and heart are confident and optimistic, my body is keeping up nicely. 60 here I come.
The only sporting activity in was involved with as a youth was swimming. I choose this sport to two reasons. One, I was a natural in the pool, two I didn’t like to sweat. Those two reasons lasted through high school. College was a blur, and 28 came like a flash. That pretty much the same speed my metabolism left me. I didn’t want to start my thirties out of shape. The only thing I knew when I started workout out at the gym, was that I hated running! As with most stories like this, a one minute run became a one mile run. After completing my first 5K running, a strange thought ran through my head. If you can swim like a fish, keep a bike on two wheels, and survive a 5K, why not try a triathlon? I found a seasoned triathlon partner on craigslist of all places and went to work. Fast forward 8 months later and I crossed that line of my first 1/2 Ironman triathlon, with a life long friend, and soaked with SWEAT!
My story is really quite similar to others here, active as a child, I did all kinds of sports but running was quite honestly my favorite. Growing up in Eugene Oregon, the true home of Nike, it was and still is the mecca of running. As I got into college and my 20’s the only sport that stuck was running, but when I got pregnant somehow I quit and took up walking. I gained 62 lbs with that pregnancy, I started at 110lbs. Thankfully walking helped get that weight off.
But at the age of 39 I had chest pain at work and found that some of the functions I performed I was out of breath. I was not happy with the whole picture so I decided it was time to get back to what I really loved and started running again. It is quite addicting and 4 years later I have found that if I miss a day of exercise I really do not feel complete.
I have a 12 year old daughter who is a mini me and as hard as I try I can not keep up with her, she is a much better runner than me. This year I have pushed myself farther than I have ever before and finished my first half marathon.
What comes next I have not decided but I will be out there in any weather, I don’t particularly like the ice but I mostly hate wind. I am inspired by the stories and know that if others can do it so can I.
Way back in 1972 my mother presented me with my sports options, “Jazz, tap or ballet?” I jumped up and did my best Bruce Lee sidekick complete with the mandatory “EEEEE” and thumb rub alongside my nose and told her that I wanted to do karate. I was promptly informed that young ladies did not “do” karate. I made the request frequently until I was a teenager and far too cool to want to do anything at all. When I was nineteen I joined the Army Military Police Corps. My mother confessed to me that she was sorry that she hadn’t let me take the Karate after all. More than thirty years later, I met a man that taught Tae Kwon Do. I told him how cool I thought it was and how I had always wanted to try martial arts. He always invited me to come to class. The third time I ran into him and told him how I wished I could train, he looked at me and said, “What exactly is stopping you?” I went to class the very next day and have been training seriously ever since. Along the way I earned a Black Belt, but for me the really wondrous thing was that I learned that I am not a klutz and that I made changes in my life because of the confidence I gained. When I confront an obstacle I ask myself, “What is stopping you?”
I have been riding horses all my life. But, as a “well endowed” woman, lack of support has been problematic. However, I found the “Last Resort Bra” and can ride in comfort anytime, anywhere! I work for 4-H and run a week-long horse program. Ihave written down your website address or provided catalogs for several teenage girls over the years to help them find the right bra, too! Thanks for providing a product that helps riding horses the most enjoyable and comfortable activity possible!!!!
I grew up in humble family in a small town in Nebraska. I never learned how to swim. We only went swimming a few times a year and we most certainly didn’t have money for exotic things like swimming lessons. Last year, at age 32, I was tired of being held back. I got invited on a camping/canoeing trip and a boating trip, and I decided it was time. I told a girlfriend of mine that I didn’t know how to swim, and she agreed to give me swimming lessons in her apartment complex pool. I’m sure it was a sight – two grown women, one teaching the other how to blow bubbles and play mermaids! The first time I ever put my face under water without plugging my nose was last summer, at age 32.
Since then, I not only went on the canoeing trip and the boating trip, but I also got scuba certified, completed the total immersion swim program, and am training for my first triathlon.
I thought yoga was for old people until I was late for my planned class and ended up taking it by chance. I was completely humbled when I saw a seventy year old woman put her hands under her feet while standing while I could only touch my ankles. I became a believer when I found that old familiar “place” inside during shavasana and realize how much I missed visiting. I became intrigued when I saw how balancing poses are highly dependent on mental state not physical fitness. I became challenged to find that harmony between mind, body and soul and have been on a quest ever since.
I have always enjoyed the feeling after a good run. I began running as a teenager and still run on a regular basis because of the physical and mental benefits! About 10 years ago I started running with some neighborhood moms early in the morning while the rest of our families were still asleep. We became connected through our morning runs.We always returned home in time to get our kids ready for school. During these runs, we helped each other through difficult times, we celebrated the good times ,we listened and learned from each other., always there for each other. We challenged each other and signed up for 10Ks, half marathons and finally marathons. Some of the moms even qualified for Boston and took a trip back east together. Our husbands nicknamed us RAWC(run away wives club) One mom made us sweatshirts with a RAWC logo on it. We still meet a few days a week, some of us have moved out of state, some have gone back to work outside the home but we all still feel connected and lucky to have shared our sport together.
I was a heavy smoker for about 15 years. With that unhealthy eating habits and terrible lifestyle. I did not take care of myself. Growing up,I was active, healthy and never had to worry about my figure. Then I became a mom of 2 and turned 30…. My turning point were my children and the change in my profession 3 years ago. I am a massage practitioner. I quit smoking during school and gained 25lbs. I asked for a memebership to the gym and session with a personal trainer. I had back surgery 1999 due to wrong workout habits. Lifting too heavy and not stretching… Within 2 years I went from a size 12 to a size 4! Sure, it is not about the size but it feels uplifting having to buy a size smaller… Thanks to my personal trainer, I changed my whole nutrition. I am not on a diet, I am making healthy choices.I make workout fun and change it up every day. I do yoga twice a week, for physical and mental strenght and walk as much as I can. I am not trying to beat myself up. I want to be healthy and strong from within.I want to thank my body for putting up with my unhealthy lifestyle for so long and for not giving up on me.We need to appreciate everything that is in front of us NOW! Stop and smell the flowers…
I grew up in a sports minded family. My mother was a national speed skating champion, my step-father lettered in 3 sports in high school. I did so many sports I don’t even want to list them! Then I got married, had 2 children, and after my husband died suddenly in a rock climbing accident when they were small, I have been busy raising them. They are now in their mid-twenties and one recently got married. I have recently bought a new bicycle and started training with my daughter. I got out my 25 year old Trek road racing bike and have taken it in to get re-vamped. I pick it up tomorrow. In a year we plan on riding the STP (Seattle to Portland) bike classic. Pretty good for a 55 year old……….180 miles in 2 days! I have lost 13 lbs. training so far this summer, so I hope to be in top shape by next year. Tour de France here I come! (just kidding……….) But, I was there 2 years ago when the guys rode into Paris……..and I plan on being there next year to see Lance ride. I am glued to the TV every July to watch the race every day…… 🙂 so biking is my new obsession!