Motivated to Run, Thanks to Her Son

Chesapeake, VA, resident Kimberly Hague is a proud mother to her eleven-year-old son, and she says he is one of her biggest motivators for running.  Kim shares, “Two things motivate me to keep running: my son and the running community. The look of amazement and awe in my son’s eyes when I complete a race and show him my medal is surreal. I can see how proud he is, and it has encouraged him to run with me.  He has been running with me since he was five years old and does mud runs and races up to 8k distances with me. The support I have from my running groups, my friends and family, the encouragement and motivation… it’s amazing. They all inspire me to keep going and to take on new challenges.”   

Kimberly has been accomplishing more and more through her running journey, no doubt, thanks to the motivation from her son and running community.  She shares, “I have run three marathons so far - Baltimore, Marine Corps and NYC. In 2020, I will be running both the Buffalo and Chicago marathons. I am also training for my first half iron distance triathlon, the Rev3 70.3 in Williamsburg, VA.”  Her biggest goal is to finish a full Ironman.

Kimberly started her running journey to improve her own health, sharing, “I had weight-loss surgery in 2014, and lost 100 pounds. I started running shortly after the surgery and have not stopped. Last year I started doing triathlons and love the challenge it offers.”  

She continues, “The weight loss surgery stressed the importance of protein in the diet and why we need protein while we exercise. With the small amounts of food I am able to eat, it’s a challenge to get all of the required daily nutrients. Beef provides zinc, which our bodies are better able to absorb from meat, as well as iron to build up our red blood supply which can break down during long runs, and B vitamins which help convert carbohydrates into the fuel. Of course, not only is beef good for you, it’s so good to eat! There are so many options: tacos, pot roast, tacos, steak, cheeseburgers, tacos, meatballs, beef stroganoff, spicy chili, burritos and tacos!!”