Name: Sarah Fox
Age: 36
5th grade my dad came to see me run the mile race for school, Melissa Pecaroro always beat me but not this time! Last lap, I sprinted and beat her by a hair! Proud moment for me, the best reward was the smile on my dads face.
Feeling that I was developing slower than the other girls, and feeling socially awkward, I found myself reading in my room, writing poetry and staying isolated until the age of 13 when I found the “older juvenile delinquent crowd”. By 14 my running career escalated from running races to running from security as I cut out of school;(((( By 17, I found myself pregnant with my longtime boyfriends baby and was saved after giving birth to my son Michael. I then rid ALL toxicity from my life and happily worked 3 jobs to support my son. Between the ages of 19-23 I found a new remedy, bodybuilding and became a personal trainer. Oddly enough, I would ignorantly steer people away from running, as my mindset was “spare the knees and whatever you do, DON’T LOSE MUSCLE”.
Ready to compete in a local bodybuilding show and an upcoming appointment to model for one of the strength training magazines, I put it all on hold when I fell deeply in love with my husband who was twice my age. He was left a widower with two beautiful boys; we combined our family and started an amazing fairytale. Adding two more beautiful children, five dogs to the brood and running his practice, the past 13 years has been eventful and never boring to say the least.
My working out lessened over the years as my priority was rightfully ONLY their commitments and making sure my husband came first. As the boys got older (all in college now), I found myself looking for an outlet, something to excite me into taking care of “me” again. When I saw the “Tough Mudder” video, I knew I was going to train for it and nothing was going to stop me. Determined I would get up at 4am and run with my husky, Lady. After a mile, I realized bodybuilding had nothing on the mental strength and endurance I would need for this! Once I made it to 2 miles, I felt a burst of exhilaration! Never running on quick feet, my running partner Lady and I worked our way up to 13 mile runs every other Sunday morning. After running the Tough Mudder, my amazing, beautiful girlfriend Vanessa Logan convinced me to join the North Country Road Warriors. Boy am I glad she did since it led me to run the Selden Hills and meet all of you awesome warriors! I’ve since then run my first marathon and plan on doing my 1st triathlon this year. My kids have run a few races with me and I love the energy around me! I’ve had some trying months recently but have been inflated with positive texts, phone calls and amazing people.
When you find yourself training for a marathon, you may lose toenails, chafe in the most inconvenient places, get giddy, cry and find yourself struck by an epiphany. You may find yourself trying to share this experience with your partner or a friend and find they scarcely understand a word you’re saying. You have a lot of time to reflect back on your life and see things more clearly than ever before. It changed my life. Dr Seuss says “Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened” and I do….. My 13 year fairytale came to an end back in November and I found myself on a new journey. I’ve decided to follow my mothers foot steps and I’m back in school to become an RN. I’m looking forward to taking an EMT class over the summer and maybe even start a new firefighting generation in hopes that my two little ones Raichel, 9 and Jeremy, 6 will follow in my footsteps. I look forward to devoting my time to my 2 young ones, to my community and country in some way. Grateful for every smile I can give, breath I take and morning sunrise I see.
The night before my Pop Pop passed away at the age of 90, he left me with “ shine your light while you still have one”. I intend to do just that as I hope you all do, no matter what curveball life throws at you!
Running sure is cheaper than therapy!
Thanks to Lou and your beautiful wife for organizing this and caring the way you do, it does not go unnoticed. I can’t wait to see all of your future posts and everyone’s pictures. It inspires me more everyday! I look forward to seeing all of you warriors on the hills soon!