Tales from the Chicked: Gretchen Lee

by Carrie Adams

Originally posted on the Spartan Race blog.

We recently announced our Tales from the Chicked series where we’ll be profiling some stories from our amazing female athletes!  Our first installment comes from Gretchen Lee who joined us in Malibu and is training for her next challenge – the SoCal Super!  Here is her story in her own words!

“I hate glitter…but I love Sparkles, my quest for rookie Spartan Chicks” – Gretchen Lee

Whoa, what a year can do for a girl! I never thought my 2011resolution of working out more effectively would lead to the Resolution of looking for “Sparkles” in 2012.

What is a “Sparkle”? For our terms a “Sparkle” is a woman who has not completed a Spartan Race.

How will I find Sparkles? Well, this is the challenge. (I myself did not know I was one until I was introduced to Spartan Race and Margaret Schlachter last summer.) So, not only do I have to locate women who are rookies to Spartan Race, but ones willing to commit and train to tackle a SPARTAN RACE!

So today, I find myself at the park with my two kids. I am dressed in workout clothes, ready to run and do the monkey bars – with ulterior motives!!!! FIND SPARKLES! Not looking so good, I see moms texting and FBing, but all in jeans and “cute” tops. Not so obvious and easy as I expected, where are the ladies dressed to exercise? So here I go – monkey bars, push ups, burpees – all in hopes of bringing out the inner-Sparkle in at least one of these texting mamas.

So, after some time, I actually had a mom approach me. “Do you do cardio too?” Hmmmm. The conversation began…after some talking, I am happy to report that this mom, that I have met previously, asked to meet up at the gym at which we are both members. I told her about my training and how thrilling it was to complete the Malibu Sprint last November.

Now to set the date and encourage her to become a SPARKLE!

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Ladies, do you want to join the Spartan Chicked movement?  Check out our closed group on FB by clicking HERE.  Sorry, no boys allowed.   You can share your Spartan Chicked stories by emailing carrie@spartanrace.com!