Runner’s Spotlight: Brooke

I grew up with a heavy dance background and had my fair share of knee injuries and finally one day I decided it was time to find a new hobby to keep me active. About 2 years before this, I met my now fiance, Keith, and he had just started getting into running so I figured I would try this sport out. I told him I would NEVER run more than a mile and then he convinced me to sign up for a 5 mile race with his cousin. After I completed this, I realized I could keep going and wanted to see what my body was capable of… and now here I am 4 marathons and 3 ultra-marathons later. Running has really become a part of my life and I have really fallen in love with the sport.

I keep running because it has brought me so many awesome friendships and shown me how much more capable I am and just how durable the human body is. It honestly has become my stress relief and brings me so much joy. I started a run streak right before I went to PT school to help keep me accountable and this has really helped me stay active everyday. I absolutely love meeting people through running and it has brought me so many awesome friendships and lifelong relationships and now I honestly could not imagine my life without running being a part of it.

I would love to one day qualify for the Boston Marathon and run at least a half marathon in all 50 states! I honestly just want to share my love of running with as many people as I can and show everyone else how much more capable their body is than they think.

A few years ago, I went for a really fun trail run right outside of Blowing Rock, North Carolina called the Tanawha Trail with my best friend, Caroline, and my fiance, Keith! We went on a 13 mile adventure and ran the trail from point-to-point and had some absolutely amazing views of the Blue Ridge mountain range. We had a couple hurdles to overcome during this run because we did not think it was going to take us as long as it did so we ran out of food and water. Our plan was to refill our hydration packs at 6 miles in, but the visitor center was not open so needless to say we were very thirsty! When we ventured to the end of the trail and came upon a wild blueberry bush I had never been more happy or excited to eat blueberries! This run showed me how tough the mind is and that we can push through so much more than we initially believe our bodies are capable of.

I got into triathlon about 4 years ago when my fiance and his best friend wanted to do a triathlon together and invited me and his wife. So, I learned how to swim in the neighborhood pool and Keith gave me all of the tips to master breathing. This was definitely the hardest part of preparing for a triathlon. I think it took me almost a month to not feel like I was drowning and then one day it just clicked. My first race was a sprint distance triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida and I had an absolute blast. The community was awesome and I, again, realized that my body was more capable than I initially thought it was.

I would say the most difficult part of triathlon is getting my bag packed with everything I need, because before I got into triathlon I just needed to pack for running. Running, I really just need a pair of shoes and clothes. But, in triathlon, you need all of your swim supplies, everything to ride a bike like your helmet, shoes, cycling clothes, and then everything needed to go for a run. Because of this, laundry gets crazy!

I recently completed my first full Ironman in Chattanooga, TN in September! This was by far the most challenging event I have participated in. Training for this race was honestly like taking on an additional part-time job and definitely took up much of my free time. But, this training taught me a lot about myself and helped my self-discipline. After putting all of this time into my training, not only did Ironman change the bike course to a much more challenging route but when I showed up for the race there were some more hiccups. First off, when has Tennessee ever had a hurricane?! I never thought a hurricane would cause a swim in the Tennessee River to get canceled but things happen and I adapted. The race was a rolling bike start and I was lucky enough to start about 20 minutes after the first age-group triathlete started. Not even 5 miles into the bike ride, mother nature wanted to make sure we still got a “swim” and made sure it rained for the rest of the day. I kept my head down and just kept pedaling, stroke after stroke, wiping my glasses every 10 minutes so I could see again. I came into transition about 6.5 hours later and had an awesome volunteer help me get my run supplies together to start the marathon. I started the run out slow and controlled to try to help my stomach settle but unfortunately my stomach stayed upset the entire marathon. This was the first time I ever ran over 4 hours with an upset stomach and this was the first race I stopped to use the bathroom. I tried everything at the aide stations and around mile 18, I had a coke in one hand and chicken broth in the other and surprisingly this helped me make it through the end of the race. I am so happy that I persevered because when coming through the finish line I had never felt more happy and excited. It still doesn’t feel real that I completed something this challenging and since I didn’t get the full experience of doing all 3 sports… I am now signed up for Ironman Texas in April 2025… so stay tuned!