Julie Zack

I wasn’t exactly an athletic kid. My claim to sports fame was the time my synchronized figure skating team made it to the nationals. I was an alternate.

In my early 20s I started my first full-time job as an education technician at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. I sat all day, and subsequently gained weight and lost whatever mild physical prowess I had.

One of my coworkers told me about the Big Sur Half Marathon and encouraged me to sign up and train with her. It sounded terrible, but I wanted to lose some of my post-college pudge, so I agreed.

I tried to train. I promise, I tried. I ran on my lunch break along the stunning Monterey Coast, and felt like dying with every step.

By the day of the race, I was under-prepared to say the least. A man jogging with a walker passed me. I finished, but I took so long they’d run out of medals.

It was an inauspicious start to my running career. The next year, when the registration opened for the Big Sur Half Marathon, I signed up again.

Over time, I started to enjoy running. I distinctly remember listening to music on a lunch run, zoning out in the sunshine, and realizing I’d completely forgotten I was even running. It was my first taste of a runner’s high, and I continued to chase it.

It’s been 15 years now since my first half marathon. I’ve lost count of how many races I’ve done in the intervening years. I love the energy and community of running races, and the feeling of accomplishment as I cross every finish line.

This past November, I ran my first full marathon in three years. Running a full marathon takes months of training, and a lot of support. I relied on friends and family to help watch my kids as I went out to run 16, 18, or 20 mile runs. When I crossed the finish line, everyone who helped crossed with me.

Today, people think of me as a runner. They see an athletic physique and know I prioritize pounding pavement. I wasn’t always that way. I transformed into a runner over years of hard work. It takes dedication to succeed, something I have in droves.