Women Who Move: Cindy Aitken

Cindy Aitken

Virginia Beach, VA AGE: 35 JOB: Storyteller and literacy workshop presenter Click photo to enlarge

Running provides many outlets for me: It’s a stress-reliever, a fun time with my kids, a great time to be alone and clear my mind, and a simple way to start date night with my husband. Running truly takes on many shapes in my world.

I ran my first race, the East Coast Surfing Championship 8k, with my husband. This race was usually a 5k, but that particular year it had changed to an 8k. Since I hadn’t prepared for that distance and my husband and I were running a different pace, we agreed to run the race separately. Although I was glad we made that decision, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be crossing the finish line together (he’s much faster than me).

As I was getting closer to the finish line, I saw my husband running toward me. I asked what he was doing, and he said, “I already ran up to the finish line to see what my time was, but I never crossed it because we’re crossing it together!” I couldn’t believe he had waited to finish with me. Ever since then, we run our own pace, but cross the last step together!

I ran my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, six months pregnant with my third child. My husband and I had signed up for the race before I found out I was pregnant. I decided to run it anyway, and ended up running the first 20 miles and walking the last six. We were ecstatic when we crossed the finish line together!