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
My story is I have two beautiful daughters 4 and 2. I want to be healthy for them. My oldest watches and has to have her mp3 player so she can run like mom. I just have to work out to keep up with my very active 2yr old. I only started running about a year ago because I felt like I was falling apart. Only 30 and I was falling apart. My joints were sore and I was not sleeping well. I started walking and then started losing weight and was addicted to it. I slowly worked my way up to running 3 miles about every other day. I ran my first 5k race in June it was great. Working, being a mom and wife; keeping myself healthy is hard. I make my workout an appointment. You keep all kinds of appointments. I make my workout as important as a meeting or doctors appointment and make sure my husband knows how important it is to me. I feel great now and I’m a great role model to my girls.
I never played on any teams growing up but have realized as an adult that I do have a great deal of love and coordination for activity/sports. With my husband’s encouragement, I joined a volleyball team and have enjoyed the friendships i’ve developed. I’ve also realized that I can hold my own out on the volleyball court. I have also increased my morning aerobic/weights workouts from 3 times/week to 5 times/week and realize my body and mind can not only do it but crave it. I started taking yoga a couple of months ago and my wii fit age has gone down 7 years! not to mention the calmness I feel from the learning the art of “letting go” and acknowledging that I am not in control nor am I responsible for everything. All that said, I’m realizing that our bodies were created to work and I plan on working mine to insure health and mental wellness so I can give the most to my husband and 3 girls!
my sports story, started with my first sit up. As a child i was not particularly active, but i was so excited when i struggled to complete a sit up that i actually did it, that sense of accomplishment was very real to me. I would have to admit to myself that i am overly competitive that it makes playing sports less fun, but my participation in sporting events taught valuable lessons. It taught me to play with in a specific set of regulations and rules (of a game or competition ) and figure the best way to win or compete with in that parameter. I participated in track and although i often came in 2nd i learned to better myself through practice, to grow in respect for sports and what it takes to compete. This is something i can bring into my life in every way ; in doing a job that my boss wants from me, to being a wife that brings peace and happiness to my family, to the way i interact in society to bring a sense of honor and responsibility. This is what competing in sports while growing up brought to my adult life.
Really exercise for me really started without any pressure from anyone, I had just graduated and for some reason that summer I found myself looking at our high school track and started everyday running a couple more laps around it. Eventually I was doing 3 miles a day and then I realized that I was not even close to how far I could run. It seemed like nothing for me 2 years later to train on Bowling Green State University’s track for my whole marathon training. Now I look back on that over 20 years later and can remember using my fingers so I would not lose track of what lap I was on. Daily I did 7 miles, that is 28 laps. But when I started doing long runs I just did 2 hours of nonstop running and then 3 and even 4 on that flat track. IT is crazy but I was worried about hurting my legs so I would change directions every mile. So I have been really not a competitive runner , doing a few local road races and a few big city 1/2 marathons and a couple marathons but it is never about my time, even though I do try to get faster as I get older. The thing I really like about running is all the wonderful people I have met on my way . People I will never forget even though I do not maybe even know their names. Real memories of kindness and encouragement. I have developed Achilles Tendon calcium bumps on each of my heels in the last year and it has hurt my quality of life more than I could ever have believed possible. No tears change anything, reality is less running and less running and more pain when I try to run more. I am trying to find something that gives me that same simple kind of joy that I get from getting in the “zone” of running . I love the water and yes I swim laps and that is very soothing to my soul but just different. Life it like that , never the same and always challenging us…. Thanks for allowing me to share my story. And by the way, both my kids 14 and 15 and my husband all are cross country runners and track runners and I am so happy for them and sometimes sad for me that I cannot run free like them , like I used to be able to do.
My 4th grade teacher was British and therefore promptly taught us to play soccer. Back then, there was no AYSO. There were few organized sports for girls – besides softball, so soccer was a great addition. We play pick up games at the local rec center — where we could play with the boys. Thanks to that wonderful teacher, I still play soccer (both indoor & outdoor) well into my fifties! Fortunately, in San Diego there are several women’s leagues; with women in their 70’s still playing! Thanks Mr. Moss!
I started running marathons 10 years ago. I was never athletic as a child but discovered my athleticism through aerobics (I taught for 5 years). This year I am running my 5th marathon in Chicago after taking an 8 year hiatus to have 3 very active boys. My training experience is a whole lot different than it was in 2001 – coordinating babysitters, running at altitude versus sea level (we moved from Boston to Boulder, CO), finding a good running bra as I’m still nursing my 9 month old – not to mention being 8 years older! Training for a marathon provides me with a great escape from the routine of a stay-at-home mom – it’s measurable and gives me an immediate sense of accomplishment. But most importantly, I can demonstrate female athletic achievement to my boys.
I was never athelic! After a hard break-up on December 31, 2008 (Yes, I know…), I started the New Year with my first spinning class. Seven months later I am still going… and am totally addicted to it. I have got the old bike out too. I have also started Pilates. I have never felt better in my life! It does not matter when you start, as long as you start! Keep up the good work! Everybody!
I love lots of sports. I started as kid doing gymnastics, swimming, and equestrian. In high school I focused on gymnastics and riding my horse. When I went away to college, I had to sell my horse, which was really tough because he was my best friend.
In college, I went back to swimming and swam on my school’s team. For the first year and a half, I was mistaken for a distance swimmer. Then one day doing sprints in work out, it dawned on my coach that I am actually a sprinter. From that day on, I did the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle. Hooray!!
In college I picked up triathlons. Then in my senior year, I realized this was my sport. I did triathlons off on for 15 years. I also ran for the Impala Racing Team in San Francisco. Although I loved triathlons and running, and swimming, something was missing. I did notice I had named all of my bikes. There was “Miss Sharky,” then “HMS Blue”, and finally, “Silver”. Hmmmm. I finally realized how much I missed riding horses.
In 2006, I started taking riding lessons again. I vowed I would only go once a week. Well that vow lasted 2 months, and my riding evolved to six days a week. Today I ride my lovely horse, “Big Max”(He is enormous! 18.2 hands.), and I take him to shows. We do very well in our division. I still run 20 to 30 miles a week and swim masters two to three times a week. All those years of triathlons and other sports has made my riding strong. I love riding and am grateful for every minute of it.
My Mom was a fast runner and won the local races when I was a little girl. I wanted to be just like her so, I started running when I was 11 years old. We have had so many wonderful running experiences together and we are each other’s biggest fans. Three years ago, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, the cancer has spread but she still runs daily, rides her bike and does Pilates and inspires people. We both love how running makes us feel free and solves all our problems. Running has given so much to me and I hope to reap the rewards for years to come.
I have been active my whole life, but it took deciding to run my first road race (the Chicago Marathon) to consider myself a runner. Growing up, I was on swim team and I rode horses competitively. When we moved back to Texas I had to sell my horse and decided to take up running as a teenager to keep weight off (oh those teenage fears!). 12 years and countless miles later, I decided I wanted to see if I could run the Chicago Marathon while I was in graduate school.
It was after completing the training and the race (4 hours, 40 minutes, 41 seconds, thank you very much!) that i came to consider myself a runner, not just running as a way to keep weight off. I also began to see my body as POWERFUL. A machine to be fueled and to take me places, not as something to be modified so clothing will look better. Since then, I have increased my involvement in all kinds of sports, learned about nutrition and cross-training, created training groups for college students to run half-marathons, had triplets and re-discovered the power of my body. Thanks to the gift of the sport of running, i have been able to realize just how far this machine can go!