On Jan. 27, Assistant Principal Michelle Shoulders participated in the USA FIT Half Marathon.  Shoulders had never run a half marathon before, so her first one was an entirely new experience.

“It was actually way more fun than I thought it was going to be,” Shoulders said. “I really thought it was going to be grueling and painful. But something happens when you start running and everybody’s cheering and you feel confident in [your] training.”

Shoulders trained for the half marathon with Counselor and girls’ varsity Soccer Coach Alan Thompson. The training regimen for the half marathon was twelve to fourteen weeks of running four or five times a week.  Thompson sought balance with Shoulders and the runners he coached.

“What I’m trying to do is keep people even,” Thompson said. I don’t want them to get too high after a really good run or too low after a really bad run.”

Thompson noticed that for some adults, it is difficult to find the time to train, but that once they do, all ends up fine in the end.

“I think that [for] everybody who has a full time job and families, it is very difficult to find the time to run,” Thompson said. “But once they get into it, they know how much better they feel when they finish a workout. Once they commit, they are pretty determined to finish their goal.”

Last year, three of Shoulders’ six kids left home, giving her more free time to run and exercise. With this new free time and a pleasant half marathon experience, Shoulders hopes to continue running for a lifetime.

“The fellowship and fun with other people is good,” Shoulders said. “I don’t see running going away. I really love it and enjoy it. It is a sport that is good for the mind, body, and soul.”