Editor's Corner: Meet our Cover Model Contest Winner!

Published September 7, 2012 04:57PM

Have you ever dreamt of appearing on the cover of a magazine? That’s what we asked readers in our May/June issue when introducing the Skechers Cover Model Contest. From hundreds of nominations, we narrowed our search down to 8 finalists—all real women runners with inspiring stories. With tens of thousands of votes, you told us who you wanted to see on our November/December cover.

DOROTHY BEAL!

I couldn’t be more excited to feature Dorothy on the cover of Women’s Running. Dorothy’s a hard-core, bad a$$ marathoner now—but like so many of us, she started running a few years ago to lose weight and get in shape. To get her miles while taking care of three little ones, Dorothy wakes up before 5 a.m. to hit the roads while her family sleeps or pushes a triple(!!) jogging stroller. Learn more about Dorothy here:

Dorothy Beal: I love running on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. It is a 45 mile paved trail that used to be an old railroad. It’s great for long runs—and perfect for stroller runs.

DB: I’ve really enjoyed having my kids as my running partners. Even though pushing them is hard, I really treasure the time we have gotten to spend together over the years! If I had to pick an adult, I’d say my friend Meghan. She’s an Olympic Trials qualifier, a mom and very speedy. She helps me push myself to dream bigger and run faster.

DB: “Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

This quote has gotten me through many runs and races. The body always wants to stop—it truly is mind over matter in how you approach running and life. There are always going to be a million and one excuses of why you can’t do something, why you are too busy or it’s too hard – control your mind and you can control your body .

DB: The long run. I love them and I hate them. They make me feel on top of the world – as if I can do anything I dream of in life. Each and every long run I reflect on the fact that I use to get out of breath walking to the end of my street and now I can run over 20 miles on a Saturday morning.

DB: It’s so hard to pick just one. Each of the 20 marathons I’ve ran has a special place in my heart. Today, I would have to say that my best race memory happened when I picked up my number for my first Boston Marathon. I broke down into tears crying. It wasn’t about the race, it was about all the countless miles that I ran and all the workouts I pushed my hardest on to get me to that point. If it had come easy it wouldn’t have meant as much to me. It was because it was hard and because I had tried and failed many times to qualify, that it felt so awesome being there, in that building picking up my number to run one of the most prestigious races in the world. I finally felt like I earned the title runner.