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
I’ve been an avid runner for 30 of my 55 years: enjoying the fun, the fitness, and those addicting endorphins. Admittedly, I’d fallen into an exercise rut, believing that nothing else could give me the same benefits. Several months ago, I ventured outside my comfort zone, and took my first Body Flow class. It combines Tai Chi, yoga, and Pilates. Our instructor, Anisa, is the epitome of strength, centeredness, and peace, and those qualities flow from her into each of us. Under her gentle tutelage, I have been able to learn poses and movements that increase awareness of breathing, and gracefulness, while building core body strength. Anisa has taught me that perfection isn’t the goal with this practice: it’s most important to honor your body, and what it needs at each session. The class ends with relaxation, and meditation: Anisa guiding our minds, and our bodies toward a state of quiet calm. I leave each class refreshed, strengthened, and peaceful, able to move through the day with ease. And the biggest surprise? Body Flow complements, and enhances every aspect of my life, including running!
I decided to move to Fort Lauderdale Florida and become a full time Ocean Lifeguard when I was 28 yrs old in May 2003. I had been living and working in Brooklyn and NYC, all through 9/11 and I needed a drastic lifestyle change:) The masters swim team I was on and assistant coached, took their annual training trip to The Swimming Hall of Fame Pool in Fort Lauderdale. I was in heaven with the turquois waters, palm trees swaying in the breezes, unbelievable doses of sunshine and a gorgeous outdoor 50 meter swimming pool!! There was a lifeguard lieutenant standing on the pool deck running a pool test for an open position. I asked about testing, flew back down a week later to test, moved down 3 weeks later and began working on the beach for Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue..with pennies in my pocket! Currently im a full-time Palm Beach County Ocean Lifeguard/EMT and still work part time for Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue… (I grew up on the Jersey Shore and worked as an ocean lifeguard every summer up through college while swimming 4yrs D-1… you can see I had a strong background to begin with!) Through this ocean lifeguarding career I’ve learned how to surf, paddleboard, surf ski, row self bailing boats, and stand up paddle… I paddled with 3 other women from Cuba to the Florida Keys on a 14 ft prone paddling board in June of ’04 attempting to set a distance and time record. It took us over 25 hours! Ive competed in Lifeguard Nationals since June ’03 to present every year except ’07 because I was getting my massage therapy license. Ive finaled every year. I’ve won high point scoring female at our South East Regionals every year Ive competed except for one.. and I won again this year and Im almost 35!! I did 16 races in 2 days..just 2 weeks ago:) I do everything, the international ironwoman (surf ski, paddleboard,run, swim) is just one of the many events I race in. I went Durban, South Africa this past March on the USA team for an International Lifesaving Competition where we raced Australia, South Africa, and Great Britain…in huge pounding surf on borrowed equipment!!! (I was the oldest competitior there by a few years:) I was told I am going this September to another ILS event on the USA team in Japan! My main goal is to be on the USA team for Lifesaving Worlds that are being held in Egypt in 2010!! Looks like I have a great shot.. I have to add all of this comes with a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication and making ends meet one way or another. For the South Africa trip, because we were only partly funded I threw a big potluck/keg fundraiser in my backyard:):)! I work as much as I can as to afford my own equipment and training while paying all of my bills like everyone else including student loans! :)With all of these achievements I am working on a website and sponsorship to better assist my training and ability to keep this up! I hope to instruct other teenage girls and women how to paddleboard, surf ski and even row surf boats!! I’d like to see more women out in the ocean on any type of ocean craft(s) that connects them with nature, encourages their ocean skills and awareness and brings a new hobby or passion to their life that will change their life for the better and forge friendships that are deep and lasting!! I have volunteered and been a surfrider foundation member, instructed surf clinics, junior lifeguards, volunteered with surfers for autism… the ocean brings many gifts!! :):) My life has been incredibly enriched and permanently altered for the better because of my continued participation in these various ocean activites :):) I hope this story fires some woman up some where!! Woop!
Thank You Title Nine for letting me share!
Jennifer Noonan
Ocean Lifeguard/EMT
LMT
w/ B.F.A. (printmaking/drawing:)
I turned 50 this year and decided to challenge myself by signing up for the Alaska Ultrasport “Iditabike” race. This race is in Alaska in early March in sub zero temperatures and the short route crosses 350 miles of Alaskan tundra on the same trail that the dogs run on in the Iditarod where they run to Nome. (The Iditabike is one week before the dogs.). I have never done anything like this before in my life. In fact, it is sort of a crazy thing for a 50 year old woman to do something like this solo. Everyone in the race is required to carry sleeping gear, a stove and food. I trained all winter by loading up my snow bike with camping gear and riding on snow machine trails and winter roads in Colorado. All loaded up, my bike weighed over 60 pounds! I thought I had a good plan but it turned out that I had no idea what I was getting into. The route is very remote and is marked by a snow machine trail that is created primarily for the dogs to run on. There are no signs. There are no directions. You need to ride at night with a headlight and often there are 30-40 miles sections with no one. The trail traverses frozen rivers and through the woods. At night you can hear critters in the woods. If it snows or the wind blows, the trail disappears to a trace. The first night of the race is was 30 below. Some people got frost bite. A few people accidentally stepped through the ice into the river. After a couple days it snowed several feet and the wind blew and the trail disappeared. I was traveling alone most of the time but was able to follow some faint tracks. It was no longer possible to ride my bike so I had to push or drag it in the snow. At times I was wading in 3 feet of fresh snow – all while hefting a 60 pound bike at each step! Insane! Sometimes I would step on a bush and fall in the snow above my waist. It would take me 15 minutes to dig out and get my bike back onto some harder snow. One day I spent 10 hours going maybe 3 miles. I started having asthma attacks. Anyway, I did not finish the race. I got just over 190 miles and then “scratched”. I do not regret my decision and I learned a lot from my experiences. Alaska in an amazing place and the bike riding on the frozen rivers and trails (before the snow!) was beautiful and memorable. I loved riding at night. I consider the entire experience an incredible success because I stepped up to the plate, pushed my boundaries, went in over my head, and lived to tell about it. I hope to inspire others to do the same.
Thanks for reading.
My sports story begins on a snowy january saturday in 2000 in Washington DC. Across the frozen Potomac river, George W. Bush was being inaugurated. Oblivious, I lined up with about 40 other women to try out for the DC Divas, the first women’s tackle football team in DC. Now, DC is a football town–the Redskins are probably the only unifying thing in the city–and for women its no different. Forty of us stood in frozen lines in a parking lot off the Beltway to chase pigskin dreams. We all played flag football, but it left us slightly unsatisfied–like eating a salad when all you want is a 1/4 of juicy cheeseburger. Before, all of us had lined up against each other as rivals on different teams–here we were as one in our nervous anticipation. Would we be good enough?
Despite my fears, I made the team and practice commenced. I was an offensive lineman–not expected to run too far, but definitely expected to move the other person out of the way. We practiced hard on parks in SE DC and had practice interrupted by drive-bys, on “borrowed” fields near large apartment complexes, and had film study in someone’s offices after hours to the roar of the clean-up crew’s vacumns. We taped each others ankles. We battled the perception that women shouldn’t play football (and still do). We became one.
One of our most memorable practices was the “Blood Alley Drill.” We had just received our shoulder pads–unfortunately we all got the same kind–regardless of position. The quarterback could not lift her arms above her head to throw the ball as lineman pads cover the shoulder and arm more than “throwing pads.” We were excited though. Our helmets had adhesive tape with our names (or nicknames–like “dumb lineman”) on the front and were shiny, heavy, and slightly uncomfortable, but proud–I wore it to work to get used to it.
During Blood Alley though–two players square off against each other-WOmano e WOmano. One has to get through the other. In two lines, we all “eyed” who our opponents were going to be—and compared their relative athletic skill with ours.
Me–the “dumb lineman” got the best athlete on the team. SPIT.
Deanna was the running back. She should have been the fullback. She was bigger stronger and sold athletic supplements for a living. DOUBLE SPIT. She also knew how good she was and never let the rest of us forget it.
My stomach churned as I got closer to the pit and to my turn against Deanna. I would carry the ball and she would try to stop me. Mentally, I went over the new skills we were trying so hard to learn–keep your feet moving, stay low–the lowest woman wins…..
The first hit felt cataclysmic. She ran full tilt and me and I at her. Surprisingly I was still standing–blinking–but still standing. Deanna was evidently surprised too. She stood there as I tried to evade her (2nd) grasp. She tackled me again, but high and I kept my feet moving. I was knocked to my knees–with Deanna still wrapped around my shoulder pads grasping at the ball. “She’s trying to be a superstar and strip the ball”–I thought. “She IS a superstar” I thought again.
But there was no way I was giving up. I came at her again and again–ball wrapped tightly, oblivious to the roaring of my teammates (who–I am convinced–wanted to see Deanna bested by the underdog).
In the end, I couldn’t get by her, but she couldn’t get me either–I kept getting up. The coach finally called it off and pounded me and Deanna on the helmet (as if running into a solid wall of personal trainer wasn’t bad enough). It took me a few minutes to remember to hand him the ball. As I wiped the mud off my practice pants (I AM a lady after all) I would swear that I could hear the sound of barriers breaking behind me and I felt at that moment like I could do ANYTHING.
I have wanted to be a Physcial Education teacher from the time I was in 7th grade when I took my first physical education class. The town I lived in didn’t have P.E. in elementary school, just recess(where I did get recognized for being the fastest runner in the school). My high school didn’t have any girls’ sports, but single-sex P.E. was required through 12th grade (thank goodness). I loved P.E. class and my teachers were great. While I was far from a gifted athlete I participated in any outside sports for girls I could find. Four girls from my high school started our own track team and we completed in local, regional and national meets. But of we couldn’t run any distance more than 880 yards. I graduated from Covington High School just north of New Orleans in 1973 shortly after the passage of Title IX. Although I still wanted to be a Physical Education teacher, my school counselor told me that the world was opening up for women and because I was bright and a good student I should take advantage of new opportunities available to women. In reality I was a better writer than an athlete, so I caved and went to Journalism School at Ole Miss. But the whole time I was in college I took physical education classes even though they weren’t required. ARE YOU BORED YET? I graduated, worked for a newspaper, had a great time at that, got married, moved to D.C., did public relations for a Fortune 50 company, had two very athletic daughters and stayed home to raise them. During their years in elementary school I would always volunteer to help in their physical education class, coached teams and started substitute teaching only P.E classes. Finally I returned to college when I was 45 when my daughters where in middle and high school to earn my degree in physical education and are now teaching middle school P.E. At 53 I ran my first marathon (very slowly) and I am currently training for the New York City Marathon. I’m still not a gifted athlete, but I do think I encourage my students, in particular the non-athletictly gifted, that being active can be fun, healthy and necessary for everyone. Everyday I am thankful that I don’t have to go to work because I love my job and what I do.
Laura Bellis
Physical Education Teacher
Liberty Middle School
Clifton, VA
I have been a ballerina all my life, sometimes on stage and for the last several years at home. 2 summers ago at the age of 43 I found out, with great delight, I have expecting our 7th child. This is awesome news but for me entails months of bed rest. It is always worth it but takes a toll on my body in several areas. Well this time around I prayed a lot, ate well and after 5 months of bed rest and 3 weeks after giving birth to Zeke, I was back to ballet and found a new love, yoga! I also came across the title nine clothes sight on the web and found my new favorite store. I can go from my exercise time to teaching my kids to running errands and look and feel awesome. I love being 45 and feeling better than ever and looking darn well to boot!
My sports story began in high school during the early 1960’s when the only “sport” that was available for women was Physical Education. I always loved to run and would beat my brother and cousins whenever we raced for fun. After my second child was born in 1976, I was anxious to lose my baby weight so I began to run and have not stopped since that time. At age 61, I still love to run as that is my “zen” time. I run fiive miles every day and have only missed a couple of days a year. I have two marathons and many Spokane Bloomsday Corporate Cup runs under my belt. Although I have not run competively for several years, I can’t wait to get up in the morning and greet the day with my running shoes laced up and ready to go. No matter sun, rain, sleet or snow, I am out there with a smile. Thank you for asking me to write my story….I have never been asked that before.
Sharry Parker
My story ends on a one inch tightrope suspended between a cliff and huge thumb of rock in Yosemite National Park. On June 25th I became the fith woman ever in history to walk on the Lost Arrow Spire higline, three thousand feet above the floor of Yosemite valley.
Six weeks ago, I responded to a post on Craigslist calling all slackliners in Boulder Colorado. Four days later I found myself packed in a car with three strangers, two men from Germany, and a young boulderite like myself. As with the rest of my sports oddysey, I was the only female in the crowd. I am the token female member of the American Gibbon Slackline team. They hired me to tour the country, from Denver to New York, to San Francisco and finally Yosemite, introducing the world to the sport of slackline.
Along the way I discovered highlining, the practice of setting slacklines at great heights and walking on them with a harness and leash. I’ve never done anything so terrifying, exhilirating and empowering at the same time. Frequently I end the day bruised and cut and exhausted from taking so many leash falls (swinging five to ten feet below the line, and thousands above the ground, then climbing the leash hand over hand to mount the slackline again) but this sport always makes me feel like a success, like someone unique and exciting, an empowered female.
The lost arrow spire was the climax of my journey with Gibbon this summer, but not the end of my slackline adventure. As a result of my success on the tour I will continue to work with Gibbon at slackline events around the world. My focus is on teaching more women about the wonderful potential of slackline and the amazing things it can do for all of our confidence and self-esteem, and hopefully by the time the world cup of slacklining rolls around in France next year, I wont be the only girl in the crew anymore.
(I have lots of pictures, but unfortunately no place to post here! Check out my facebook, or just google Lost Arrow Spire to see how extreme slacklining, and women, can be!)
Though I was an active child, I was not born into a sport oriented family.I started training in martial arts at 24.Stayed with that for 10 years.For several reasons I had to give it up at 34.One reason being, my 5 children were getting into sports and there was not enough time for it all so I let mine go. Fast forward to me at 47, 20 pounds to heavy, thinking, this is just how being middle-aged is. Then my little grand-daughter made a comment to me that motivated me. In the innocent way of a child she said “oh Gammy, yor kinda fat and wrinkley” I laughed on the outside,but inside I was crying. I joined a gym the next day and went religousley.Like taking medicine. Then I got an awsome trainer, and startad getting results and having fun doing it. Now people call me “the ripped chick” which is way better than being “fat and wrinkley” I was actually trianing to be on American Gladiator,But since they went off the air, that dream is over. So I did a sprint distance triatholon and got first in my bracket. But the best part is being able to have the strengh and energy to play. Skiing, wall climbing ,horseback ridding, cycling. What ever I want. And my little granddaughter…. She is learning to siwm and bike so she can do triatholons “Like Gammy”
I have been active my whole life. In my early twenties, I worked at Ski Magazine and had the opportunity to relocate to Colorado from New York and work in the ski industry while pursuing my passion for skiing. Instead, I chose law school. I practiced law with the State of New York for about twelve years, as an Administrative Law Judge. About one and a half years ago, I became more interested in fitness and took the opportunity to pursue my dream of working with women skiers, as an instructor. I left my job with the State, became certified as a personal trainer and ski instructor. I teach skiing in the Womens’ Winter Escape program at Jiminy Peak. In addition, I became certified as an Aquatic Exercise Instructor. I now represent claimants in unemployment insurance cases before the agency where I used to work. I have more time to spend with my 11 year old daughter and 8 year old son. My husband and I have coached my son’s soccer team for the last three seasons. In addition, I have competed in four triathlons in the last two years and love it!!! Life is good.