My Friends! Welcome to my new series, Inspirational Stories!

We don't celebrate each other enough! So, with the help of my friends at Feisty Menopause, we reached out to YOU to share your stories.

This is just the first post of an ongoing series where we will be celebrating all you bad-ass women who, at age 50+, decided you were just getting started!

Cheers! Carla

Meet Randi!

Randi is a native of Vermont, USA who, literally, from the time of her premature birth weighing just 1 pound, 15 ounces, has been a fighter her whole life. She completed her first half marathon at age 50, then a battle with lung cancer at age 55, and now with more than 20 Spartan races to date, her story is truly inspiring!

Growing up, Randi was always active. As a child living near a lake, she was a strong swimmer. She played softball through high school, enjoyed aerobics and spinning in her 30s, and did her first Spartan race for ALS in her 40s. After that, she knew she needed to start running if she were to survive future races. At 46, she finished her first 5K, at 50, her first half marathon, and at 53, she ran her first full marathon. She was on top of the world!

But at age 55, Randi was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer. She grew up in a household around secondhand smoke, had asthma, and was a smoker herself. Although she quit smoking, she felt that the damage was already done. On March 23, 2020, at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, she had the lower lobe of her right lung surgically removed. Six months later, she ran the virtual NYC marathon with her training partner and finished just 34 minutes slower than in her previous marathon. She was back! To date, she has completed more than 20 Spartan races.

Randi credits a core group of 3 friends, the bonds they built, and the confidence she gained in herself for what she enjoys most about this incredible journey. For other women wanting to get started on their own path, her advice is:

You can do anything you set your mind to.  Many of us spend too much time caring for others.  Take the time to care for yourself.  We also worry too much about what other people think or worry about how well we will do at a new task.  Guess what, no one cares!….. I was afraid I would be judged because I was old and certainly not fast.  Those who I thought would judge me actually said I inspired them.  Imagine that!!!

Randi currently lives in Vermont with her husband of 38 years and works as a medical technologist in a hospital laboratory. She and her husband have 2 grown children and will soon be grandparents!

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I would like to extend a special thanks to my friend, Selene Yeager at Feisty Menopause for bringing together this amazing community of women who were gracious enough to share their stories through the Hit Play Not Pause Facebook group.

If you have an inspirational story to share, I would love to hear from you!

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