Vanessa Reese
My name is Vanessa Reese, & I’ve been a runner off and on for the last 30 some years. I ran my first 10k in my early 20’s, finishing close to last place (I quick ran, and passed someone right before the finish line).
In my 30’s & 40’s I would run off and on until my knees’ gave me problems and then what finally took me out was Plantar Fasciitis & Sciatic pain so bad I couldn’t sit for long periods at a time without lots of ibuprofen for about a year. I thought my running days were over. But then I started to walk miles.
Then I found out you could walk a half Marathon, so at 56, I walked my first one. I didn’t come in last. I came in under 3 hours. It felt so good & excruciating at the same time! I got in my car to drive to my daughter’s afterwards & signed up for my 2 nd on the way.
I also decided I wanted to try running again. I read a lot about knee issues, so changed my stride & didn’t have a lot of issues – just wore a band around my knees when I ran.
In between my first half that I did in June, and the 2 nd one I signed up for in October, I did 3 more totaling 5. By the time I got done with my last one my plantar fasciitis was flaring up big time. It was too late.
I was hooked, & hooked on long distance running. I had to figure out a way to run without injury, so first I listened to The Pose Method on audiobooks on a long drive.
I took a few weeks off for my feet to feel better & then started learning a new way to run. It was super awkward, but I kept up. I don’t even wear a knee brace when I run now! I also read “Born to Run” , (life changer!!!), and watched several shows on Ultra Runners & knew that
wanted to do at least one.
I’ve already signed up for my first half in May, and decided I need to do a full to practice for a 30 mile run in August. If I don’t die, (my husband has already told me he is taking extra life insurance out on me), I will be going for 50 next year. I don’t care how fast I am. I don’t care what place I come in. I just want to finish. It’s never too late!
