Feb 17 2012

BLOG: “Your Running Story” (February #womensrunning chat) Guest Answers

We had the wonderful pleasure of having Ann Brennan and Mina Samuels be our guests at the “What’s Your Running Story” Chat! Here are their awesome answers in long form!  Feel free to copy the answers and answer them on your own site this month!

Ann Brennan is the creator of Ann’s Running Commentary and the editor of Beyond Limits Magazine. When she is not working she trains for marathons and is currently training for her first Ironman distance triathlon.

1. Describe your running story in three words. Work in progress.

2. What has running inspired you to accomplish in your life away from running? Running inspired me to become a writer. As a child I knew that I wanted to be a writer but over the years I let others convinced me that to be successful I would need to go into business.  I spent several years in real estate settlements and finally decided to become a stay at home mom. It was not until I was almost 40 that I decided to pursue a career in writing and though I am not going to get rich doing this, it is the best job I have ever had.

3. Name some topics that have inspired you to write a good running story on your blog/website. The first story I wrote on this journey was Ann’s Running Commentary .  It was about the first race I ever ran with my daughter. I wrote it completely for myself and only tried getting it published after my husband read it and encouraged me to submit it.  These days I am really lucky because as the editor of Beyond Limits Magazine, I am constantly sent stories about amazing people.  My favorite one lately was the story about Andy Campbell who broke his back in a rock-climbing fall and is currently planning a 30,000-mile trip around the world.

4. What running books and magazines inspire you to run faster?  There was a book I owned a long time ago called the Runner’s Anthology. I lost my copy and it seems to be out of print but that one was well thumbed. It was full of poems and stories about running all distances.  I really miss that book.  The Long Road to Boston is another one that I have read a dozen times.  It is fictional but the race itself is so well written that it is hard not to love that book.

5. Name one runner that inspires you and why they inspire you. My husband. He amazes me.  His dedication is incredible.  He decided about three years ago that he was going to qualify for Boston. This meant cutting 40 minutes off his time and he did it.  It took a lot of work but he completely changed his running philosophy and inspires me everyday to push just that much harder in my training.

6. What do you want the last sentence of your own running story to say? Wow, what a question. I think I would want it to say, “She inspired.”  I had a friend one time call me and tell me that I needed to talk to his wife and tell her she could do this marathon that he wanted her to do. In my head he was doing this because “if Ann can do it with her short stubby body, then of course my wife can.” My confidence was so low I believed that was what people thought of me.  Now I am beginning to see that just by getting out there and doing it, I can motivate people and inspire them to do more.

Thank you so much for your answers! -Andrea

By Andrea • Running, womens running chat • 2