Athlete Race Recap: St. Patty’s 5K and St. Patrick’s Day Triathlon

The Irish race theme continues!  Here’s what Full Circle Endurance athletes raced this past weekend:

• St. Patty’s 5K - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• St. Patrick’s Day Triathlon - Keller, Texas

St. Patty’s 5K

On Saturday, March 11, 2023, Heidi Caruso and her family participated in the St. Patty’s 5K in Portsmouth, New Hampshire!

I’m particularly proud of Heidi for this race.  We had to take some time off of training recently, and her return to exercise has been necessarily slow and intentional.  Originally, Heidi was planning on running the 10K event on Saturday.  However, she exercised patience, wisdom, and restraint by changing to the 5K.  Not only did she do that, but she followed the same workout we would have done if she had been doing a training workout from home.

This was Heidi’s first time doing something like this in a race situation.  She embraced the challenge of it and did what was best for herself long-term (even if her brain/heart wanted something different in the short-term).

In sport, we often think of toughness as pushing beyond our physical limits.  However, that’s not what true toughness is.  Toughness takes many forms, and often, toughness manifests as working through a challenge to our mental limits.  Heidi did this and exhibited true toughness.  In the process, she had a great experience with her family, and finished with a smile.

Way to go, Heidi!

St. Patrick’s Day Triathlon

On Sunday, March 12, 2023, Jacquie Craggett raced the St. Patrick’s Day Triathlon in Keller, Texas!

Jacquie raced this same event last year, and her results this year were just as awesome.  Once again, she was in the top 38% of all female finishers and in the top 55% of all finishers (male and female) combined.  She also won her age group (up from second place last year)!  As a Masters athlete who is 68 years old (racing age, her chronological age is still 67 ;) ), Jacquie was the second-oldest female in the race and is proving that one can stay strong even as the years go by.

Way to go, Jacquie!