Karen Sullivan
March 2015
Karen Sullivan is passionate about living an active lifestyle and the energy that comes with it. Some may call her crazy for all of the running, swimming and biking that she does, but in Karen's opinion, anyone not being active could be considered the crazy one! And she would know, because she wasn’t always running marathons and completing triathlons. Karen’s journey started when she had faced some adversity in her life. It was at this time she made the decision to trade in the unhealthy aspects of her life (which even included smoking) in favour of her running shoes. Inspired by a very strong running community in Halifax, Karen joined a running group. Fast forward to today, Karen has completed over twenty half and full marathons. That’s not to say it was easy and she never felt discouraged, but when faced with a challenge she learned to adapt her goals and embrace change, especially when it came to running.
"You learn how to never give up no matter how hard it gets."Three years ago Karen noticed her marathon results were starting to plateau. Rather than give up on running altogether, she decided to explore triathlons – a sport that seemed daunting at the time given 25m of freestyle was as far as should could go. Hand-in-hand with her apprehension, Karen jumped into the pool four mornings a week in an effort to improve her swimming. From there she went on to join the CGC Masters Swim Club and has been a member ever since. “With coaching and determination, I can now say I love swimming and this cross-training has made me a stronger athlete overall.” By persevering, Karen has not only maintained a healthy lifestyle but also experienced some valuable life lessons that transcend her workouts and races. “You learn how to be disciplined and the importance of setting goals. You learn how to never give up no matter how hard it gets. Most of all, you learn anything is possible and this is what gives you incredible energy!” It is this connection between becoming both stronger physically and mentally which keeps Karen motivated. Please join us in wishing Karen the best of luck as she prepares to run the Boston Marathon in April and compete in the Mont Tremblant Ironman in August.