Tara Steeples always wished she was a better runner. Many years ago she went through a running phase with a couple of friends. They did a couch to 5k program and ran/jogged several 5ks, but she always felt like she struggled – never finishing in under 40 minutes. She remembers watching elderly women speed walking faster than she could jog…and so she gave it up. When CF WOR introduced the Endurance program, she decided to give running one more try. At least this way she would improve her technique…and she started to get excited about the idea of finishing a half marathon! During the first few classes, she questioned why she had signed up for the program – running was HARD. But then she hit a bright spot: she was assigned to run a 5k the 2nd weekend of training and not only did it feel easy, but she beat her personal record by 10 minutes!! She couldn’t believe that after only two weeks of training she could do all of that. A couple of weeks later she was assigned to run a distance further than she had ever run before: 5 miles. And you know what? She did it! Her confidence began to grow and each week as the distance increased, she knew she would be able to do it! Next up: the Oklahoma City half marathon and a new PR!!

Tara’s favorite memory from Endurance: “Experiencing the Route 66 Marathon with our training group! It was the largest race I’ve ever been a part of. The energy and encouragement felt amazing and I couldn’t believe I actually made it across the finish line! I finally got to experience that runner’s high and it was totally worth the 12 weeks of work. I also really enjoyed working with Kristen. She is a great coach and made this experience a blast. I love her outgoing personality and sense of humor. She keeps us entertained!”