Detective Gomez Radio Show March 6, 2012.
(interview starts at min 36 and lasts approx 15 min)
‘Runner Rochelle Frazeur sees a lot of life on the trail’, Dallas Morning News article by Debbie Fetterman
Rochelle Frazeur remembers reading about the smile ultra marathon runners have as they cross the finish line.
That smile swept across Frazeur’s face when she completed the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile on Feb. 3 in Huntsville (Texas) State Park, two days before her 36th birthday.
Frazeur’s drive and determination helped her reach other running goals this year. She completed a 200-mile run and won the women”s Ultracentric 48-hour division last month in Grapevine.
These same traits also helped her cope when her marriage broke up in April. She became a single mother with two children, working again, after seven years as a stay-at-home mom.
“What a difference a year makes,” the Coppell resident said. “I never thought I”d make it through.”
For Frazeur, running helped.
“You hit a wall, and you know in a couple miles, this will be over, and you”ll be fine,” she said. “That”s what I love about ultra running. It so prepares you for life.”
Frazeur wants to encourage everyone, especially single women, to move forward and become more active physically. The Web site www.ultrachelle.com details the physical and mental benefits of distance running.
Frazeur grew up the lone sister of five brothers in rural Maryland. She attended a small, private Christian school without a track program. She gravitated to nearby trails and enjoyed running a few miles whenever she could.
She did her first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At the Pittsburgh Marathon expo, she picked up a brochure for the JFK Ultra, a 50-miler near where she had grown up.
She finished it in 2003 on “guts and determination.” She said she didn”t properly train for the distance. It wasn”t until she was turning 35 that she remembered setting a goal of completing a 100-miler by the time she was 35.
This time, she took her training seriously. In the process, she did the 2006 Ultracentric 24-hour event, in which she completed 91 miles. Then she did the 2006-2007 Texas Trilogy, consisting of the Sunmart 50 miler, the Bandera 100K and the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile. She was among 14 who completed the 212-mile challenge.
Having achieved the 100-miler, she set another goal – covering 200 miles in three days.
Frazeur did that at Tom”s Run, a U.S. Coast Guard run and relay that starts in Cumberland, Md., and ends in Bethesda. Frazeur did the entire distance solo. She had a plan for replenishing fluids and food and for resting. She napped for 20 minutes every six hours, and slept for one hour every 24 hours.
She endured daytime temperatures of 104 degrees. She saw wildlife, moonlight reflections of trees in the Potomac and even a picturesque American flag in the middle of a deserted pasture.
Frazeur said she takes pride in the finisher’s jersey she received.
“It’s got a map that shows all the little towns you go through,” she said. “I can’t believe I ran that far.”
‘How Dallas athletes use workouts to overcome life’s setbacks’, Dallas Morning News article by Christie Robinson
People ask ultrarunner Rochelle Frazeur, 39, of Coppell all the time why she runs 100 miles, much less why she runs as a soloist in 200-mile races meant as relays. She feels it’s her calling, she says.
As a child in Pennsylvania, she grew up with abuse in a split family. “I didn’t know why God would allow that,” she says. Frazeur found respite in running through the fields, orchards and mountains near her country home. Later, others would inspire her to keep running.
While five months pregnant in 2000, she met a woman who encouraged her to try a marathon after giving birth, so she did. Then she read an article about a girl who described “the smile” she got after running a 50-mile race, so Frazeur ran one, too. Her oldest brother talked about how in the Army he had marched 100 miles with an 80-pound rucksack, so in 2005 she entered her first 24-hour race, completing 93 miles.
Around that time, her marriage began falling apart. While in the middle of a 100K race, the difficulties of life and the race broke her. She then realized her hardships in life had a purpose – they made her a fighter. “God had been watching out for me in that way,” she says. “He prepared me to do this sport.”
Now a single working mother with two children, ages 9 and 11, Frazeur raises pledge money for her races to benefit causes that help young girls and abused women. “I”m now trying to use this gift to help other girls and women realize how much running can help them.”
Achievement she’s most proud of: Only soloist to complete the 200-mile Tom’s Run Relay in Maryland in 2007 and 2008.
Diet and fitness routine: Avoids white flour and doesn’t eat after 5 p.m. No caffeine, except during overnight races for a punch. Runs four to six miles four days a week before the sun comes up, then 10 to 20 miles on the weekend. Runs 100 miles or 100K at least once a month to stay sharp.
Tom’s Run 2008
As a single mother, Rochelle Frazeur understands the importance of having a support network of friends and family. She is thankful for the people who help her in her life and in her sport.
Rochelle is an ultra-distance runner, and in June she will participate as a solo competitor in “Tom’s Run.” Tom’s Run is a relay run over the entire length of the C&O Canal towpath. Usually, teams of runners break down the distance into legs, with each member of the team completing one phase of the course. Rochelle will run the entire course solo. That’s more than 200 miles in just 3 days.
But even though Rochelle is running solo, she won’t be alone. Lots of people will be there to help along the way. It is this support that makes Rochelle grateful for all the positive things in her life.
Rochelle also understands that for many women, a helping hand is not about running a race. For many women, a helping hand can literally save a life.
In the United States, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence. And every day, more than 3 women are killed by their intimate partner.
Just like Rochelle’s long distance run, escaping from an abusive relationship takes courage, determination, and someone to help along the way.
Rochelle wants to use her running to help raise awareness of domestic violence, and to help women discover in themselves the strength to take control of their lives. In Frederick County, Heartly House is there to help victims of domestic violence.
Through our services, and with our support, women can get the help they need to start their journey to a better life.
Please explore www.heartyhouse.org to learn more about Heartly House.
To learn more about Rochelle’s vision of how ultra running can help empower women, visit her website, www.ultrachelle.com.
©2008 Originally published online at http://www.heartlyhouse.org/tomsRun2008.htm
Article by Christie Robinson for the Dallas Morning News, “Ultrainspired“