JanBlog_2014_01_Jan_RR_Jeffs_063tamaralackey

“The Ramblin’ Rose race gave me my power back.”

My husband is an Ironman triathlete and while I have watched his races for years, I was often intimidated to do one myself. An all-women race with all different levels of athleticism was so motivating to me. I had recently had my first baby and was overweight, out of shape and struggling with a chronic back issue. The last thing that I needed was to feel intimidated. Training for a triathlon is hard enough; I needed a race that didn’t intimidate me but inspired me! That is exactly what I found with the Ramblin’ Rose. The race was so well supported, attended and organized (that’s what happens when you put a lot of women together!). The crowd support and encouragement was incredible. On the race course I saw kids, overweight women, women with cancer, moms, grandmothers, sisters, older women, hard-core racers (well, I barely saw them, they were going so fast) – but  mostly I was like “Hell yeah, ladies!” Each person inspired me and gave me energy to just keep moving. Crossing the finish line with my little girl and seeing the sparkle in her eye and hearing her yell “Mommy zoom!” was the highlight of my race day.

“My husband and I take our 2-year-old child on our runs, swimming in the pool and biking. It’s amazing to feel healthy, fit and to inspire our little girl. Our child is our biggest cheerleader; from the running stroller she yells “Go, Mommy, go faster!”