Sara Beel

"Most astonishingly to me is through all of this I somehow became a runner. After volunteering at last year's Girlfriends' Half-Marathon, I decided that I would dedicate one year of my life to running. I started 2011 by running a 5k in the Portland Shamrock Run."

Client of the Month!

My turning point was seeing myself in the company Christmas photo. I knew I had been putting on weight. I knew that I needed to do something about it. Those were the thoughts vaguely floating in the back of my mind for almost a year. One glance at that picture though, and those thoughts were front and center – and screaming. And then this little flyer showed up in the office lunch room spouting off something about a weight loss challenge for a gym only a couple of blocks from my office. My goal was to regain a healthy weight, but NWPT gave me so much more than that. I have been a member for over a year now, and I have lost almost 35 pounds in that time. The weight loss is secondary, however, when I talk to other people about my experience with NWPT. I talk about how I actually miss my trainer Becky when I don’t see her twice a week. I talk about the people in the group classes like they are long-time friends. Everyone notices (and says something to me) when I am not in class. The accountability and support that the trainers and the other members give is amazing. We all want each other to succeed. I feel healthier and happier. I FEEL GREAT!!! And that spills into every aspect of my life. I am a better friend, employee, spouse, daughter, sister. My dog Barley is healthier too since he joins my husband and me on long weekend hikes. Most astonishingly to me is through all of this I somehow became a runner. After volunteering at last year’s Girlfriends’ Half-Marathon, I decided that I would dedicate one year of my life to running. I started 2011 by running a 5k in the Portland Shamrock Run. I just finished my first 10k at the NWPT Summer Solstice Run. I am super excited about running my first 13.1 miles in October in the Girlfriends’ Half-Marathon. Now when I see pictures of me running out of the water from swimming a ? mile in the Columbia River as part of a relay team for the Girlfriends and Dudes Triathlon, I don’t scream. I laugh and smile and think about how much faster and further I am going to go next year.