Three Women Athletes Who Inspire Me to Take it to the Next Level

I love getting outside and moving my body around. It makes me feel alive. This post goes out to three super-awesome women who teach me how to be braver, stronger, quicker. There are so many inspirational ladies out there. Who do you look at for lessons?

Joan Benoit Samuelson's name to me is synonymous with women's distance running. She was born in 1957. She was a track star in college, but when she got into distance training she was so uncomfortable running in public on roads outside her small town that she'd pretend she was looking at flowers when a car would pass her. Finally, she got over her fear of running in public. Joan went on to win the gold medal at the 1984 summer Olympics for the marathon, and still holds the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon and the Olympic Marathon. Lesson: Do what you love, and don't worry about what others think.

Just a few short years ago, Evelyn Stevens was working long hours as an associate on Wall Street--then she bought a bike for exercise. After a fun experience in a local race, Evelyn entered another...and won. Then she just kept winning. And she hasn't stopped. The thing with Evelyn Stevens is that she's just built for bike racing. She's capable of putting out huge amounts of leg power for her size and has incredible aerobic capacity. Now she rides for team Specialized/lululemon and is well on her way to becoming one of the best cyclists in the world. Lesson: Don't be afraid to try new things. You never know what secret strengths your body holds.
Steph Davis is an incredible, inspiring rock-climber, but I included her on my list because I love her blog where she she answers all sorts of questions, from how climbing shoes should fit to how to bake vegan cheesecake (really!). She seems so awesome and down to earth and interesting and exactly like the person you'd want on the other end of your rope. Sometimes when my hands hurt from climbing and I'm convinced I'll always be terrible, I read about Steph's incredible adventures and get all revved up again. Lesson: How to make oven-baked fries. Also, only fear is keeping you from being your greatest.

Photo 1 of Joan Beonot preparing for the 2008 Chicago Marathon, Wikipedia.org. Photo 2 of Stevens in the 2010 Merco Credit Union Grand Prix, Wikipedia. org. Photo 3 by Jimmy Chin.

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Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/04/three-women-athletes-who-inspire-me-to.html

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