For the women who run (or walk) in the MORE | FITNESS Marathon + Half-Marathon, the day is not about winning — it’s a lot bigger than that. Five women over 40 tell why they joined us (along with 8,000 other readers) last spring and will again on April 26 — the sixth anniversary of our women-only event.
Girlfriends' Group
Dixie Douville, 45
Registered Nurse
Flanders, New Jersey
"As a pre-Title IX girl, the only sport available to me in school was cheerleading. I loved it and cheered all through college before becoming a nurse and fitness instructor. I didn't start to run until after I had my second child. At first, it was just a way to fit in 30 minutes of solitude. But I found myself wanting to run farther, more often, and with my girlfriends. A group of us started running together, and over the years it has become our time to share the challenges of our careers, worry about our kids' college searches, and celebrate our friendship.
"I dreamed up the Girlfriends in Training program in 2003 to encourage women to create time for themselves and strengthen their relationships by walking and running together. We brought 15 women to the first MORE Marathon in 2004, and by last year we'd grown to 115. (My favorite part of every race comes when I do a cartwheel in the final few hundred yards -- guess that cheerleader still lives in me.) Many women work so hard to raise their children and advance their careers that they forget to honor themselves -- and we give them that chance. It's not about competition. We don't ask one another 'What was your time?' We say, 'Did you have fun?'"
