“The transformation I have seen has truly been life changing.” That is how Gretchen Sells described the past 3 years.
As a mother of 2 children, she had spent the last 12 years caring for her children and often, as many mothers do, putting her kids’ and family’s needs above her own. While she had participated in Crim races when she was younger, she had not been as active as she wanted to be lately.
In 2019, with her children a bit older and needing less attention, Gretchen determined it was time to focus on herself. With a goal of doing the 10 mile Crim race again, she joined the CrimFit Training Program because she saw it as “the only option to be able to get back to doing it.”
“I was in the slowest walking group there was, but it was a start and I was determined,” Gretchen shared. As she got involved in the group, she connected with the group right away. There were several group members that had done half and full marathons, which was such an inspiration.
Later that year, Gretchen decided to sign up for the Capital City River Run. During the race, she decided to run through all of the road intersections as a challenge to herself. Finding that she liked running, she started running a bit more throughout the race until the last mile, when she decided she was going to run the entire last mile. This caused some anxiety amongst family and friends who were tracking her progress on the app. “I began moving so fast, my family was convinced something was wrong, and I was being driven by paramedics.” Gretchen explained. Imagine their faces when they saw Gretchen cross the finish line in a dead sprint after completing a half marathon!
After her first summer in the CrimFit Training Program, she continued to stay active throughout the winter, and the next summer she decided to move to a run/walk group and was placed in Brian and Dorie Barkey’s group. “Brian and Dorie were great coaches and always inspired me,” said Gretchen. With their encouragement and Gretchen’s pure determination, earlier this year she registered to run the Chicago Marathon, but with less than 35,000 spots available she didn’t think she would be accepted. Much to her surprise, in March she learned she was in, and then it became real.
Gretchen has been following the Jeff Galloway training plan from a book Brian & Dorie gave her. For the last 4 months, she has been training and preparing, not only running but also participating in CrossFit programs, yoga, and following a strict diet while staying active. Just last weekend she completed her longest run (running from Goodrich to Grand Blanc and back) in preparation, and now she is beginning to taper her runs down to help her body rest and get ready.
On October 10th, Gretchen will run her first marathon with 35,000 other people in Chicago and accomplish what she thought wasn’t feasible just 3 short years ago. Gretchen explained that somewhere around the 19-20 mile mark, your body runs out of stored energy and makes you feel like you can’t continue. “This is when the coach inside of you must come out and get you to the end,” she says. “You need to tell yourself that you can do hard things. This is what separates runners from marathon runners.”
Joe Dimambro, Director of Races & Training at the Crim Fitness Foundation shared that “these stories of transformation are what we love to see. This is why we do what we do; because you can create life change.” It is possible to transform your life for the better in just a few short years. Whether it is through running, yoga, mindfulness, better nutrition–it doesn’t matter, just get out there and begin the change.
Gretchen shared that the change she has seen has been unbelievable. Not only has it made her much stronger, but it has brought about a level of confidence within herself she hasn’t had before. “It has completely changed both my personal and professional life,” Gretchen said.
On October 10th, we hope that Gretchen feels the wind of our entire community at her back while she demonstrates to the Windy City and the world at large how grit and determination can drive you to accomplish your goals.
