The desire to stay healthy is the everyday passion for AP Seminar and English 9 teacher Corrina Terry, who has been running for 25 years. Her journey started out slow and steady, but now she is running half marathons 2-3 times a year.
“Growing up, my parents had a pool, so I always swam,” Terry said. “Swimming was my thing in college, although there was no pool in Salt Lake City.”
Without an outlet for swimming she turned to a new active pastime: running.
“I never thought I’d be a runner, but as a kid, I had [recurring] dreams about running,” Terry said. “I am one of those dreamer people. I remember as a kid thinking, ‘I don’t know why people would run, it looks stupid.’ But I kept having that dream, and also that impression in my mind, this is something you need to do.”
Struggling to find motivation, she took strength in others as they helped guide her towards her goals and getting started.
“I was 29 and married to my first husband; I needed to lose weight, and one of my goals was to run a half marathon, but I didn’t know how to get started,” Terry said. “There weren’t any rec centers nearby, so my ex-husband was like, ‘Why don’t you start running? You talk about it all the time, yet you have never done it.’ He was the one that motivated me to start out easy. Jog a block, walk a block, and do that everyday.”
Finding inner confidence by starting out slow, Terry persevered through struggles.
“You slowly build up, so that way it’s easier on your muscles you haven’t ever used,” Terry said. “I did that and it took me about two weeks until I could jog a mile. I was so proud of myself and was like, wow I can really do this. I lost weight, and I felt really good.”
All the time and dedication put into running has turned the hobby into a way of living.
“Running is something Mrs. Terry is very passionate about, it is a priority in her life,” Terry’s husband Steve Terry said. “She quite literally plans her life around two things… work and running. Nothing gets in between those two things. Even when we are on vacation, we will always try to choose places where she can run outside or where there’s a treadmill available.”
Overcoming a roadblock, running is starting to grow more apparent in her peers lives.
“Several years ago, we competed in a handful of half marathons together, but during the pandemic, I stopped running while she continued,” Steve Terry said. “I have just started running again and will join her in a half marathon in May in La Jolla CA. While I don’t enjoy running like Mrs. Terry does, I do recognize the overall health benefits of having good cardiovascular fitness and joint flexibility.”
Continuing to improve, she is sparking inspiration within peers.
“Every time Mrs. Terry competes in a race we look back on her past progress of her training and other races she has participated in,” Terry said. “It is interesting to notice the overall difference in her time and placement in her age group. I am very proud of her… she has worked very hard at this difficult hobby of hers and continues to improve, as well as maintain great physical condition.”
