Oswego YMCA

Beth Wells Bio

 

I have been a runner for more than 1/2 of my life.  I started running at age 14 and still love it 27 years later.  I started running to get in shape for soccer in high school.  I ran in the summer with my mom, 2 miles a day at a time when you really didn't see women running (your uterus could fall out, you know).  We were friends instead of mother and daughter on those runs. 

 

What I like best about running is the closeness and friendships that you develop when out for a run with others.  Somehow, it's easier to tell your running friends the most personnal details while running.  Running has gotten me through some tough times: divorce, cervical cancer and job issues to name a few.  It also helps me with my job. As an engineer, I need to problem solve and what better way to come up with creative solutions that with a run?

 

Running has enabled me to do many things.  I was able to go to attend a college which my family could have never afforded, Syracuse University, due to a running scholarship.  I was able to see much of the United States in college as we traveled for national meets.  I was also a NJCAA Track and Field All-American in the 5000 meters in 1987.  I am on the Varsity Club Board of Directors at Syracuse University as the first woman athlete to be elected to their board from 1997 to present.  I have run all over the world from the streets of Beijing, to the forests of Sweden, to the trails at Mount St. Helens, to the heat and humidity of Malaysia.  I can take running everywhere!

 

I wanted to help with the training program because I was not brave enough to try a marathon until I turned 30.  I have now run 13 marathons and been to Boston 4 times.  I would have loved to have a training group to run with for the encouragement for the first one.  I know that we can help those who are nervous and unsure of the distance.  For the marathon, mental training is as critical as the physical training.  I want to see their joy when crossing the finish line for their first marathon, knowing that the training helped them reach their goal. 

 

What do I like least about running?  The days when I do not run due to work travel or days off (I need a couple of days off a week to stay injury free).  Those non running days don't seem to go as well as the others maybe because it feels like part of me is missing.

 

Beth