We’re excited by our post today because we want to share the stories of two women marathon runners within our own company. If you’ve been checking out our blog recently, you know we also feature the stories of powerful women in sports. Why? Because these stories have not gotten told anywhere near enough.
Within our business, we have two extraordinary women and senior executives who are runners. They decided to challenge themselves by running their first marathon in January 2020, the Walt Disney World Marathon. Courtney Eaton is the president of our logistics company. And Angela Foglesong is our vice president for branding. As she says, she “makes things look pretty.” The dynamic pair will run with Angela’s husband, Brian Basham. He serves our country in the National Guard and is affectionately regarded as the “Energizer Bunny” because he’s always doing something.
Harry Potter, Disney, and a Marathon
If you know Courtney and Angela, then you know that they love Disney. Moreover, they’re avid fans of Universal Orlando Resort’s Harry Potter experience. So, it only stands to reason that these two women decided to make the Disney Marathon their first one with more to follow. Hopefully, that’ll happen in the years ahead.
When we decided to include Angela and Courtney in our series about female athletes, we spoke to them about why they chose to train and become marathon runners. As you know, everyone has a personal story, and in sports, it’s no different. However, often, when it’s about becoming a marathoner, it’s a challenge to oneself to do what they might have thought impossible. It’s a dream and a calling that has to get answered.
Courtney: From the New York Sharks to Ultimately Pro Golf
Courtney is a natural born-athlete. In fact, she was a member of the famous professional women’s football team, the New York Sharks. Moreover, she has a desire to become a pro golfer after she meets the whole marathon challenge.
One of Courtney’s earliest timed runs was the Sprint Distance Triathlon and biathlons in the New York and New Jersey area, where she lived before moving to Florida. She was also a New York Road Runners Club member for many years in New York City. With them, she ran other short-distance races. “Running a marathon has always been on a list of future accomplishments,” Courtney said and continued, “Angela and I have run the Disney Wine & Dine half-marathon, and we also did the Shark Bite 5K together this past January. The Disney World Marathon was the next step to add to our accomplishments.”
She reflected, “The marathon has always been on my ‘wander list’ for eons, along with Iron Man triathlons. To me, it’s the ultimate in individual success to complete a marathon or other types of running races. It’s just you, most of the time. Further, I’ve always been in team sports where you lean on each other. And you rely on each other to succeed. But what is weird about this event is that Angela and I probably talk several times a week about training, equipment, fixing problem areas, soreness, forms of running, nutrition, etc. So although running is considered a singles sport, this is also a team sport. She provides, along with Brian, a motivation that I can’t let my teammates down. And need to run faster and not give up. I have a lot of self-motivation, but having them with me helps.”
Although Courtney is a natural athlete, that’s not the case when it comes to running. She stated, “I can pick up a sport and play it very well, I think. But not with distance running. It’s always been hard, and I want to conquer that; I want to be a ‘runner.’”
Angela: Marathoner Who Does it for Those Who Can’t
Angela followed up with her thoughts on why she’s running. “I have run five half marathons and many other distances. I can’t really explain the ‘why’ of running, but I have always wanted to be a ‘runner’ and never really considered myself as one. Most of my races, I walk/run them. But a bucket list item has always been to run a marathon, and well, I’m not getting any younger, so I decided this was the year. And, since Courtney had similar thoughts, why not do it together?”
Angela admitted a challenge they are both experiencing, “We are both at about the same running level and are starting now to work on mental strength and overall conditioning. As we get deep into the for ‘real training’ (later this fall), it will be about tackling distances. Because we are running Disney, with a 16-minute mile minimum pace for the race, it is a more relaxed race, which is why we chose it. Still, I want to say that I’m a marathoner. I run for those who can’t, and I’m grateful (to tears, often) that God is giving me the strength, power, endurance, every day to keep moving.”
Running for Social Good
If you follow us, you know that our company is a social enterprise, and our team cares about making a social impact. We are in the early stages of the journey for Courtney and Angela, as well as Brian. Courtney is running for people close to her, and they both considered running each mile in honor of someone or something. But they’re still considering it as they have time. Additionally, Angela has been sending the running sneakers she no longer wears using the sneaker recycling program to make a global impact.
Running and marathoning is a personal experience for everyone, and our entire team is happy to be part of our women marathon runners and their journeys in whatever ways this unfolds for them. Stay tuned for our monthly post on Courtney and Angela’s progress, and you can also follow these two exceptional women marathon runners on Instagram, @wanderlist_adventures.
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