Author: Amy Begley
Published on: September 29, 2016
Watching the Olympics this summer was a better experience for me than the 2012 Games. In 2012, I had just retired from professional track and field, so I did not watch NBC or the Olympics. If you would have told me in 2010 that I would not be in London, I would not have believed you. My coach was so sure I would make London that he sent me home from the 2008 Beijing Olympics before the closing ceremony saying I could see it in London in 2012.
I retired earlier than expected due to injuries and took a long time off from running to heal. I was lucky to find great coaching jobs that allowed me to stay in the sport. But running was no longer my job and became less of a priority. It became the first thing I cut on a busy day. Training others for everything from their first 5K or the Olympic Trials took precedence.
After two years of not consistently exercising, I knew I needed to get out the door again – but I knew that I needed a push since I thrive on setting goals that I am passionate about. In January, Atlanta Track Club had our Annual Social. The last auction item of the night was a set of charity bibs for the New York City Marathon. The group would be challenged to raise $25,000 for Atlanta Track Club’s Kilometer Kids youth running program. I told Rich Kenah, our executive director, that I could get a group of volunteer run leads from our training programs to do it. He thought it would be a good opportunity for me to start running regularly again. I was able to recruit five run leads to join me on this adventure – Brad Blitz, Stephanie Reynolds, Jessica Rudd, Courtney Strosnider and Tina Tait.
I was drawn to the idea of running the New York City Marathon for a couple of reasons. The first was to give me something to train for and get excited about. The second was to finally do New York. In 2009, I was invited to watch it from the lead vehicle. It was a great experience to watch the race unfold with a front row seat. My original goal was to do the race in 2012 and retire. I would love to go back and finish that goal even though I will be a slower and not on the elite start line.
I have started to train for the marathon and so far my longest run has been 15 miles. It is a different kind of training than what I am used to doing since I mainly competed in the 5,000m and 10,000m. I am running fewer days and fitting training into my life instead of fitting life around my running.
In June I ran my first race since 2012 at the Braves Country 5K. I didn’t know what to expect but I had fun. Soon I am anchoring a relay for my second race and will take on a 5K leg. I am also planning to do a half marathon in October to gauge my fitness. Everyone is always surprised when I say I haven’t done a half marathon, since I have trained people for marathons and have done 20-22 mile long runs during my professional running days.
I get a lot of questions about what my goals are for the New York City Marathon. I am hoping to stay healthy and experience my first marathon. At this point in my life, anything more than that is a bonus.