By Tomas Kassahun, Reporter
@TomasKassahun
For the past four months, Clovis’ Stephanie Ormond has put in about 10 hours of running per week. In those hours, Ormond said she totals 40 to 60 miles of running.
With each stride Ormond is coming closer to accomplishing her goal – competing in the Boston Marathon, which she will run April 17.
The training has carried on despite Ormond’s full-time job as a Dental Hygienist and part-time job as a trainer at Lululemon Athletica.
“Squeezing in 10 hours of running is something I enjoy,” Ormond said. “That is the goal I have chased for a while, so it’s worth it.”
Ormond first set her eyes on the Boston Marathon four years ago.
As she prepared to qualify for her first Boston Marathon, Ormond first had to make sure she could complete a half-marathon.
The next step – completing a full marathon – was daunting at first. But Ormond completed her goal and qualified for her first Boston Marathon in 2016.
After completing last year’s Boston Marathon in 3:29:00, Ormond is looking to beat that time in her second appearance at the Boston Marathon.
“Before I started running I would have thought that’s impossible,” Ormond said. “The thought of running for that long sounded horrible.”
She thanks her large group of supporters, including a group called Destination Adventure Racing led by coach Farshad Oreizi. Ormond also follow a training plan put together by Physical Therapist Sarah Anderson.
“I have an awesome group of people that I train with,” Ormond said. “Several of them are going to Boston also. We all have the same goal, so we meet up together and we run.”
Still, Ormond’s biggest supporter has been her husband.
“My husband basically facilitates my life while I’m doing this,” she said. “There are those nights where I go to bed and say I think ‘I’m going to sleep in and skip my morning workout.’ He’s like ‘Stephanie you’re gonna regret it. You need to go.’”
As she treks the 26-mile course, Ormond looks for an extra motivation to get to the finish line. So she thinks back to all the people who have helped her come this far.
“It helps to think of everybody that has helped me get here,” she said. “I have an amazing coach, my team that I ran with, my husband has been so supportive, my family.”
She adds that the marathon is mostly about training physically, but once it gets down to the race it’s about mental toughness.
Whether it’s for people who qualify or for those who don’t, Ormond said the historic Boston Marathon is an unforgettable experience.
“Whether you qualify or not, just go,” she said. “Boston loves their marathon. It’s just cool to get the energy from the local people. They’re so excited for that.”
That energy means more nerves for Ormond.
“I’m usually full of nerves before every race. Boston has that extra edge so it makes me even more nervous,” she said. “I’m not trying to beat anybody but I want to do it better than I did before.”
“It’s magic,” Ormond adds. “It’s so much fun and you get to be with your people.”
