Fleet Feet's Number One Cheerleader

I discovered Fleet Feet Knoxville for the first time at the Run for the Deaf race in 2010. I was at the finish line after my husband Ken finished the race, and we were cheering on the last people.  Several ladies wearing white shirts that said “Running Changes Everything” started up the hill towards the finish, and running alongside them was a guy wearing a shirt that said “Coach.” He was running up and down the hill, with each and every one of the runners and walkers, cheering them on and telling them they could do it.  I didn’t meet Shahin, Cheryl, or those ladies that day, but I never forgot the first thirty seconds I saw Shahin Hadian in action.  It was very moving to see those women who looked like me run up that big hill when at the time I was unable to even walk that distance. A few weeks later Ken was running in the Whitestone 18 miler, and while waiting for him to finish I met Kristen Lewis while she was waiting for her husband David. Kristen told me that she ran too and explained about the training programs at Fleet Feet. I had never heard of such a thing, but I mentioned the group I saw on the big hill at the Run for the Deaf. Kristen said that was their graduation race and they all finished. Everyone who finishes the class finishes the race. She told me they have different classes for different levels of abilities, so I worked up my courage, and at 230 pounds I signed up for my first Fleet Feet training program. I was scared to death, and I never thought that I would be able to run. I just wanted to get in shape enough to be able to keep up with my family. READ MORE