Spotlight Saturday
Colleen Thompson: Age 38
Occupation: Deputy Sheriff
Kids: 2 Furbabies…cats named Toby and Jack
Place of birth: St. James NY
I just wanted to say “thank you” to Lou for selecting me to be “Warrior of the Week” and also to all of the awesome people I have met so far since becoming a warrior!
I am the oldest of 3 kids and have one brother and one sister. I grew up in St. James and most of my family still lives within a few blocks of each other. I am very close with my family and am honored to be an aunt (the greatest of course! lol) to 3 nieces and 2 nephews.
I started running in junior high after I had tried out for volleyball and was told by the coach that not everyone could make the team and well “sorry but you are the first person we are cutting…maybe you should try track they will take anyone”! So I figured I wasn’t going to make any other teams and went to see the track coach. I just wanted to find a place to have fun and for some reason coach thought I would make a great hurdler and by default a sprinter. I loved the hurdles! The running part not so much, but I stayed with it. I stayed with track throughout high school. I think I drove the coaches crazy though, I was that lazy runner who found every way possible to find the easiest run or practice. I figured out if you ran the 4 lap warm up slow enough the faster girls passed you and you only had to do 3…or if you did the field laps there was a spot you could cut all the corners. I was really horrible! I still loved the hurdles though and found every way possible to practice that…I was actually pretty good at it! After high school is when I became serious about running and doing distances. I think its in part because freshman 15 was starting…not a chance I was going to let that happen! So I started running a few miles a day. I really didn’t do any races but just really found I loved just hitting the open road and losing myself. In junior year of college I joined the crew team at Dowling and was hooked. Besides running, crew was the only other sport I was good at. I competed in many different races with the team and loved every minute of it! After college I was a volunteer in my local fire department and also started working as an EMT in the city with NS-LIJ and also Presbyterian. I still kept running…it actually helped me deal with all the stress of work and life. I loved working EMS but in 2004 the call came from the Sheriffs Department and I jumped at the chance! (If you had asked me as a kid, I had always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher but realized in college there was no way I could handle that, that is way too rough for me to handle! All teachers are saints in my book!) So I started the police academy and have been a Deputy for almost 12 years. I love my job and am very blessed to have found my calling! Running still helps me through anything good or bad in my life…along the way I finally decided to try a half marathon and well I caught the itch for half and fulls. This past June I finally caved and ran “the hills” for the first time, after much harassment from a friend…Dawn Testa is the one you all can blame for me being around! I love being here! I was always reluctant to join a running club because I don’t have a normal work schedule and a lot of times can’t make things. I didn’t want to let people down or look like the slacker I used to be in high school. Once I ran the hills, I realized this is where I belong, you are all my family! I have made so many friends and have had such great experiences in the short time I have been here!! I plan to stick around for a long time!! Thank you for staying and reading this (I know it was a little long) and hope you all have a great day!!