Sara Welle - Fitsok Ambassador

What is your running history?

I started running in 2005 as a way to lose weight and make friends. When I started running, I ran 14 minute miles and did 3:2 run:walk intervals. In the last 11 years, I’ve lost 50 pounds, increased my speed and endurance, and have set PRs every year.  Running has allowed me to find and explore a competitive side that I did not know that I had. Running has provided me with a community, a sense of self-empowerment and a way to construct my life that is beneficial to me and those around me.

What running groups/communities are you involved with?

I run with Mill City Running in northeast Minneapolis. I’m very partial to their 6:30 am Friday morning runs, after which we have pancakes. They are some of the best people I have ever met - supportive, inspiring, funny, from the fast guys and gals up front to us slower peeps in the back.

What is your favorite running experience?

The 2014 TC 10 Mile. I set a very ambitious time goal for myself, 1:20:00, which would be a 5 minute PR, and I trained my butt off. I found myself at mile 8.5, legs heavy, breathing raspy and mind weary. I checked my watch and knew it would be close, really close. This is the moment in every other race, in every other area of my life really, when I would give up. It's just a race. It's ok to not achieve your goal time. Everyone else will still love you. Everyone else probably expects it, frankly. Some little bubble struggled up to the front of my brain, though, and screamed at me "YOU DID NOT WORK THIS HARD AND COME ALL THIS WAY TO RUN 1:20:01." So I did the only thing I could think of - I ran faster. I crossed that finish line in 1:19:40. I almost puked at the end. And then I cried. I had to assure the volunteers that they were tears of joy. I have given up on a lot of things in my life - other races, people, jobs, nursing school. But I hold onto this race as a reminder of a time when not only did I not give up, I dug in deeper. And to me, that’s a big part of what running is about. It reminds me that I am capable of so much more than I think I am.

What events are you running/racing in 2016? What are your goals?

I have some nebulous goals, but no specific races picked out yet. I’d like to set a new 5K PR (current: 24:46), and win my age group in a race, probably either a ten mile or a half marathon. I’d love to be able to race a couple miles, just to experience the burning, puking, complete-and-utter-oxygen-debt that is racing one mile.

What do you talk about when you talk about running?

When I am running, I usually talk about beer, food and poop. But when I talk about running, I am talking about the fact that when I am running is when I feel the most me.

What is your favorite Fitsok sock and why?

The CF2 Cush Low. It was the first Fitsok I tried, thanks to a free pair from Mill City Running, and I was instantly hooked. I realized why “expensive” socks are so much better than the inexpensive C9 ones you get at Target. They wick sweat away (yay for no blisters!), support your arch, and feel like little pillows on the bottom of your feet.

What are your major running accomplishments (races completed, PRs, awards won)?

• 56 road and trail races, including 4 marathons
• Consistent PRs from 1 mile to marathon over 9 years
• 1st Female, 2013 Upper Midwest Trail Runners Trail Series, Women’s Open Division
• Athlinks Profile: https://www.athlinks.com/athletes/bikelola/Profile/

If you were a professional baseball player, what would your walk up song be?

“Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett

Do you prefer burritos or burgers?

This is an important question. I have a theory that there are two kinds of people in this world: burger people and burrito people. I am the latter.

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

Amy Adams. And it would be a musical.

What’s the number one race on your bucket list?

UTMB. Which is hilarious, because there’s no way I could survive that course. But a girl can dream...

What is your favorite distance to race?

The Beer Mile.

Anything else we (and the world) should know about you?

In my former life, I was a musical theatre actress. I do a mean Julie Andrews impersonation.