It wasn’t until Stacey was 39 years old that she started walking for fitness and weight loss. After a few months, she signed up to walk a holiday 5k:
"I had such a great time at that event and was so enamored with the little snowman medal I got when I crossed the finish line, that I knew I had to do more races. I continued
increasing my mileage until I walked my first half marathon at the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Half Marathon in 2014. Over the next few months, I started to add run/walk intervals into my training and really began to enjoy running."
To date, Stacey has completed nearly 100 races between the 5k and 10k distance, as well as 35 half marathons, and one full marathon.
Stacey was inspired to sign up for her first trail race after talking with Connie Gardner (previous winner of the Burning River 100 as well as many other ultramarathons) while being fit for her first pair of trail shoes. Connie’s passion for ultras motivated Stacey to set bigger goals and to push beyond what she thought she was capable of doing. Within a few weeks of that conversation, Stacey had completed her first trail race in the CVNP, the Run for Regis half marathon in 2016.
"I fell in love with trail running right away because it is the perfect combination of challenge and reward, set in some of the most beautiful places you can imagine, complete with a super supportive and friendly community. My most recent races have been with Western Reserve Racing, including the Fools 25k (I think this is the muddiest race I’ve ever
done), the inaugural Mo Half at Mohican (SO incredibly beautiful), the Dirty Love 10k (I love drinking hot chocolate from my new mug after the race every year), and the Winter Buckeye Trail Half. In the coming months, I have a full trail marathon and a 50k scheduled, with hopes of one day running the 50 miler at Burning River"
Stacey continues, "As far as volunteering I have fun volunteering at races, and hope that I’m able to do even something small to make another runner’s race experience better. My past WRR volunteer activities include being a course sweeper at Burning River in 2017. During the overnight miles between Ledges and Pine Hollow, I rolled my ankle on a rock. Even though the ankle gave me problems off-and- on into the late Fall, I really wanted to run at Camp Manatoc on Labor Day weekend, so I registered for and started the half marathon at Leave No Trace. Unfortunately, I rolled that same ankle about ¾ of a mile into the half, and I had to stop. I elevated and iced the ankle for about 20 minutes after getting a ride back to the start line. Since I was waiting on my friend to finish her race, I put on the air cast boot that I had in my Jeep, and spent the rest of the day volunteering at the finish line aid station in my boot! The following day, I came back to Camp Manatoc to volunteer at one of the water stops for the Minnehaha 5 mile race."
Stacey will be volunteering again for a few more upcoming Western Reserve Racing events, including at early packet pickup for The RubberDucks 5k, Muddy Paws, and Green Jewel, as well as at one of the aid stations at Green Jewel.
"I am also a volunteer dog runner at Summit County Animal Control, through a program called Running Dog Runners which staffs the last aid station on the Burning River course. Running Dog’s mission is to pair runners and walkers with dogs at local rescues and shelters in order to increase their adoptability by providing regular exercise and increased socialization."
Thanks Stacey for volunteering and for all your hard work!
