Zel Brook

There is a contest to nominate a woman who inspires you at www.lizclaibornestyle.com/awcontest/

It says, "everyday we are surrounded by woman who have a profound affect on our lives. They inspire us and amaze us with their unwavering commitment and passion."

Here is one of my four nominations:

When I start to question my ability to move towards a fitness goal, I think of Zel Brook. Without a doubt, Zel Brook is one of the women I admire most in the world who has worked through difficult health challenges and has achieved her goal of running marathons. I first met Zel as I was struggling with an added one hundred pounds on my frame to run my second 5K race. As Zel whizzed past with her cane running with ease, she stopped to encourage my efforts. In other 5K and 10K races, I noticed how supportive Zel is to other runners who have special challengesj--people recovering from heart surgery or older runners or those with added weight like me. I learned later that Zel was in a wheel chair years ago recovering from brain surgery. Determination and persistence to live a full life again, Zel worked slowly from her struggle to walk across the room to running her first marathon in the Portland Marathon in 2002. Zel runs with a cane because her sense of balance was effected by the brain surgery. Persisting in spite of pain and health issues that would cause most people to quit, Zel has healed many of her problems with her running. Zel will run in the Portland Marathon on October 1 and the Seattle Marathon on November 26, 2006 which is before her 60th birthday on November 28th. Zel is an inspiration to any runner who knows her and to all women.