Karen, a life-long resident of
Hampton, Virginia, is a mother of two very active boys who keep her on her toes,
on top of being a Professor of Educational Leadership at Old Dominion
University. She loves to take advantage of her surroundings being so near the
Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Beach by spending time with her family fishing and
visiting the beach. Karen found that going to the gym became more difficult as
her daily demands with family and work grew. However, from the lemons came
lemonade! While her boys were at soccer practice, she soon started her journey
hitting the pavement. Like any great hill run, Karen realized that she would
have to take her journey of running slow and steady, day by day. The initial
days acclimating to the running schedule did not come without difficulties and,
in fact, she was never really a fan of running. Karen realized that with the
continued persistence and consistency she was eventually able to witness a 1-mile
run turn into several consecutive mile runs without stopping. Karen’s “hill
crest” of her initial running journey was when she completed her first 8-mile
run. She was elated and could not believe it was even possible people were capable
of running such a long distance. It wasn’t much longer before Karen was signing
an entry to her first 5K with a friend, and she was off to the races! Karen is
a member of the Northeast Team Beef program, coordinated by the Northeast Beef Promotion
Initiative and funded by beef farmers and ranchers through the Beef Checkoff
Program.
You might ask yourself, how does she
do it? Karen finds the fuel for her finish in beef, of course! “I’ve battled
anemia since my teen years and the energy drain that comes with low iron
levels. It has been mitigated however, through adding more beef into my diet. I
am my healthiest when my running nutrition plan incorporates lean red meat 3-4
times a week, and it’s a bonus that my family loves it too!” Her motivation to
continue to run is also attributed to being a role model for her children. She
hopes that they see their mom on the trails and roads, staying active and
committed to a healthy lifestyle. Karen loves that she can do the impossible
and along the way transformed her love for the outdoors into a passion for long
distance trail running. As a runner, she finds that the running community has
become like a family. Every race is another reunion and a chance to develop new
connections with people who have the same passion and love for the sport.
As for the future, this woman has no
thoughts of slowing down any time soon. Actually, she’s just getting started!
Karen looks forward to many more years of running and leading an active
lifestyle. She would like to run another 100-mile race, hopefully in 2019,
along with more ultra-marathons. Karen has recently been working with her local
track club, Peninsula Track Club, in hopes to connect with new runners and
those that don’t know yet they can be rockstar runners. She hopes that her
story can help others see their potential and be apart of a great running
organization.
Karen enjoys running and absolutely
loves representing Northeast Team Beef. In some cases, the jersey does all the
talking as its such a conversation starter. Some of the talk that comes along
with the jersey includes: “Wow that’s an awesome jersey! What is Team Beef?” or
“What are the benefits to beef in a runner’s diet?” Karen has made some great
running friends just through other runners asking about her jersey. And, of
course, she’s been able to exchange great beef recipes along the way. With beef
as her fuel, Karen continues to push her limits and is seeing that success is
possible!
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