Amid the chaos she escapes the business of life to run...It gives her peace

Balancing a life of motherhood and elite athletic training is no small task. With a husband, four children and a job, Suzi Swinehart has had to learn the art of balance as her time gets split between training, award ceremonies, sports events, homework help, children bickering, cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking. The Fort Wayne, Ind woman is an ultra runner and runs 80 to 100 miles per week. On top of rigorous training, she takes care of her family and works part-time as a behavior therapist. “There are days when my brain just spins and spins,” she says. “It can be extremely stressful.” Amid the chaos, time seems to slow when Swinehart escapes the business of life to run. “It's like therapy for me,” she says. “It gives me peace.” As an ultra runner, she recently participated in a 24-hour running event. She ran 128 miles – 28 miles farther than her personal record and two miles farther than her goal of beating the men's record for that course.

posted Thursday February 22nd