Running with Tiffany Coleman

Leading up to the Martinsville Half-Marathon, I'll feature the stories of other runners so you can hear different perspectives on how various people began running and what motivates them. Today's guest blogger is Tiffany Coleman of Martinsville, who has been running for about six years now. I had the opportunity to run with Tiffany today and enjoyed getting to know her a little better. 

My name is Tiffany Coleman, I am 41 years old, I have been married for 12 years and I am a mother of 2 daughters CW age 8 and B age 6. My whole life I have been an active person who loves the outdoors. Every morning at 6 am I walked with one of my dearest friends.  She moved out of town after B was born and I dreaded walking alone in the dark…but I did. Then my brother made a suggestion that changed my life…..J who is 7 years older than me suggested running…….Hmmm I thought I could burn just as many calories in half of the time! 

This idea soon turned into a competition with my brother. Every day we would text each other how far we ran. We started out slow and then it became an everyday event. He would always tell me his elevation climb and how fast he ran, I thought he was crazy.  Then I HAD to keep up or beat his time, elevation climb or distance.  I can remember thinking I will never be able to make it up Mulberry past my house. Slowly I did make it past our house and now it is one of my normal routes. 

J would come home and we would spend time running together various routes in the area.  I really looked forward to that time because we were always very close and he had just recently moved back to the area.  This became a huge outlet for me and also for my brother. Job demands have made those times rare but, we still compare our running times. Our favorite runs have been on vacation, in the mornings at the beach. We really made it a competitive pushing each other on days the other was tired 

Running has not only become my weight management tool it has become the best stress reliever for me. My husband pushes me out the door when I am having a bad day to go for a run.  I have gone on to run several 5ks, 10ks and one Half-Marathon.   

I have joined a group of ladies that I run with (when I can) and completed the Martinsville Half Marathon with them. They have definitely gotten me through some runs that I did not want to do!   I love them all dearly and cherish their friendship and companionship on our runs.  I never in a million years thought that I would run a half marathon and I could not have done it without them.  I cannot begin to express the way you feel when you cross the finish line, it is exhilarating!    

My proudest moment was not the completing the Martinsville Half marathon; it was crossing the finish line with my 8 year old daughter in the Turkey Day  5k. It was so exciting that she wanted to do this with me and loved every minute of it.  I always want to be a healthy example for my girls. 

Thanks so much to Tiffany for sharing her story. If you have a story to share about running, send it my way. Email your story and a photo to JDoss@YesMartinsville.com.

If you have not signed up for the YMCA's training programs yet, it's not too late! The half-marathon class continues this Tuesday and the 5K program begins on February 10th. Challenge yourself to take a step towards a better you!