Introducing our 1st Without Limits Challenger from Charleston: Siobhan Maize!  Read a little about Siobhan below. We look forward to following her progress over the next 12 weeks as she takes part in the #WithoutLimitsChallenge

What is your overall background – age, where are you from and family life?

I am 44 years old, married to John Maize, and have 2 great daugthers, Katherine: 11 and Alexis 9. We also have 2 dogs, Truman and Tucker :). I moved around the east coast growing up and then lived in Dallas and San Francisco with my husband John before moving here to Charleston.

A recap again on your new years resolution/reason for wanting to be a part of the challenge

I wanted to do the challenge because I enter this new year recovering from a fairly serious injury– a stress fracture in my hip. It happened way back in October and the recovering has been steady, but slow. I DO NOT want to end up on injured reserve anytime in the near or distant future again. My new years resolution is to take the time to work on my run form and gradually build my run mileage again. I know a focus on run form takes commitment and time, and I have both right now! My other goals are to do well in the bridge run and then run Boston Marathon and try to requalify at Boston. In order to run Boston and requalify, I need to to be very mindful about my training between now and then.

Did someone motivate you to take the challenge, or was this a personal decision.

This was a personal decision, although a good friend really encouraged me to take this time to focus on my run form.

Have you ever had personal coaching before.

A good friend has helped to coach me over the years through a variety of races from marathons, to triathlons, to ultramarathons.

Have you ever run the Bridge Run – if yes, their favorite part – if no, looking forward to the most/have heard about from others

I’ve run the bridge run sporadically over the years. I ran on the old bridges years ago, and then ran it again last year on the ‘new bridge’. I ran last year as part of a long run for another race I was training for (I ran 10 miles to the bridge then ran the race). My favorite parts were lining up at the start and seeing a lot of good friends, then running toward the finish line on King st—great to run by all the cheering people! Hanging out post race with my friends was great too. A really fun way to enjoy this great city we live in!

Fun fact – something nobody knows about you, or hobbies

Fun fact: In San Francisco I used to volunteer at a rehabilitation center for sea lion and elephant seals called The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. It was an amazing experience. I got up close with the animals feeding them, helping the medical team restrain them, and cleaning up after them– so much so that I was bitten! When I told the nurse at the hospital I was bitten by a sea lion, she kept correcting me and saying ‘feline’. She didn’t believe me!