Meet Sharon Sason. Growing up in Holon, Israel, she dreamed of running competitively. With a successful high school track and cross country career behind her, she was awarded a college scholarship. Her dreams were coming true.
Things started off well in her college career. She was living her dream and succeeding. Then she began hurting. The signs of overtraining were showing themselves. “Overtraining syndrome frequently occurs in athletes who are training for competition or a specific event and train beyond the body’s ability to recover. Athletes often exercise longer and harder so they can improve. But without adequate rest and recovery, these training regimens can backfire, and actually decrease performance.”
Because of her multiple injuries, she was unable to compete and lost her scholarship. Sharon was devastated to lose her dream, but also determined to not give up.
…it broke me down but I did not give up…
Chasing Her Dreams
Not willing to let her dream of competitive running die, she searched for another school that would offer her a scholarship. She quickly found her home at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Pushing through injuries, she worked hard and got as close as possible to her previous personal records and finishing a successful run career with the Warhawks.
Today life looks a little different for Sharon. She still is running 30-35 miles a week, but a lot of that happens while pushing a stroller. She makes sure to get 2-3 workouts a week that consist of tempo runs, fartleks or intervals at the track. When she is not running or taking care of her family in Ft. Rucker, AL, she is working as an Occupational Therapist. Sharon finishes the sentence “I run because..” like this…
“Running helps me clear my mind, organize my thoughts, aspire to be better, achieve goals, and stay healthy and fit.”
With all of the hats she wears, you can see how the same determination and drive that started her running career have kept it going strong. The upcoming Montgomery Half Marathon will be her first marathon. With Sharon’s deep drive and never give up attitude, we know she will do well.
We look forward to seeing you cross the finish line Sharon. Thank you for sharing your story with us!
This post was originally shared here at mmstiming.com. If you have a submission that you would like to share, send it our way!
