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Trainer helps 2 Women finish their first Marathon
Trainer helps 2 women finish their first marathon
January 26, 2010
By Christopher Huber
Somewhere between mile 16 and mile 18 is when it all hit plateau resident Kris Lang. The first 13 miles of the 2010 Rock N’ Roll Arizona Marathon had gone better than she expected. But she hit the figurative “wall,” overwhelmed with the throbbing pain in her feet. She sat on the curb, took off her shoes and rubbed them for a bit.
“I was in a bad place at that point,” Lang said. “That was pretty rough.”
However, with a newfound determination — thanks to months of personal training with Sammamish-based trainer Amy Lewallen — Lang got back up and finished the 26.2-mile race Jan. 17 in Phoenix. It took just under six hours, but she finished, along with Lewallen and Sammamish resident Mary Cristy.
The three ran the marathon after Lewallen, owner at Fitness Together, challenged them last April. Cristy had never run for exercise before, and Lang had yet to run a marathon.
“It was the highlight of my training career. It was worth every penny and every mile that I put in,” Lewallen said after they returned from the event. “They were doing so well with their training that I just sort of threw it out there. They thought about it and decided it might be kind of fun.”
To be exact, Lang finished in 5 hours, 54 minutes and 18 seconds, and Cristy and Lewallen came in at 5:15:50.
“26.2 miles is a really long way, and to be there for the whole thing it was really cool,” Lewallen said. “The last .2 of the marathon was the best part.”
Lewallen said this was her seventh marathon, but a first in her 16-year fitness career when it comes to actually traveling with clients. As she and Cristy crossed the finish line they cried, she said.
“It felt amazing,” Cristy said. “I just feel so empowered.”
The first thing Lang did upon finishing was to look for the officials handing out the medals, she said.
“I wanted that finisher’s medal,” she said.
The three women said it was not about the time. Cristy said she threw out her time goal at mile 22. By mile 24, she re-focused on the main goal: finishing. During her low point, Lang said what kept her going was knowing that friends and family members were likely tracking her progress online from home. But the months of accountability from Cristy and Lewallen also helped push her to finish.
“Having workout partners was a really big driver for me,” she said. “I think I would have done (a marathon) eventually. I don’t think I would’ve done one this year without Mary and Amy,” Lang said.
To get to this point, Lang and Cristy trained and ran with Lewallen five to six days a week. Cristy worked with Lewallen for nearly nine months, Cristy said.
Running the marathon represented more than finishing a race.
“When I was a kid I was a 90-pound weakling that never got picked in gym class,” Lang said. “Running is a challenge, so I guess I kind of felt like if I could just do a marathon, running is less of a frightening thing.”
Cristy said the experience changed her life physically and emotionally. When Lewallen first challenged them, Cristy “thought she was on drugs,” Cristy said. But it motivated her to believe in herself and set a good example of fitness.
“I totally changed my body; totally changed my thinking,” Cristy said. “I wanna do another marathon.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
By Christopher Huber
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