My name is Amy Barbour Shoaf and this is Linley our 13 year old daughter. I have been running most of my adulthood and it has been great therapy through good and bad times.
Linley started running in a free running club I set up at Bloom elementary when she was in the 2nd grade. I imagined this running club would have a hand full of kids, but 60 signed up and we started our Bloom running club. We had volunteers to help get the kids excited and running along a small track at Tyler park. The point was to set a healthy goal and learn a little about nutrition. John Bizzell from ValuMarket donated a healthy snack for every club meeting. I acknowledged this was impacting the kid’s. Now I see many of them several years later involved in XC or other sports. Now Bloom has an official XC team!
Encouragement:I wanted to find a way to continue to encourage the youth in our community to get involved by running together with friends and family and introducing them to our local road races. With the help of the Kentucky Derby Festival's race director, Shanna Hinton Ward, I was honored to be picked as a 2018 KDF mini-Marathon/Marathon race ambassador. Now I have a broad platform to promote a youth base. 2019, I was again honored to be picked as the KDF race ambassador. Linley, age 13, was also honored to be the very first KDF Junior race ambassador. Linley ran her first mini in 2018 at the age of 12, and this year she has been promoting to the youth community to sign up and reach a goal the set for themselves. JCPS honored Linley at a board meeting for her accomplishment as the first Junior Race Ambassador.
Community:I love to give back to this great community who provides so many opportunities for others to be active and stay active.
The River City Races give just that type of opportunity. I see a lot of youth runners and it is encouraging to see the support the River City Race events gives to our community young and older. Thanks to Camille Estes and Lyndsey Estes, Linley and I had a booth to promote youth running at the Pumpkin 5K in Cherokee park Oct. 2018, which is one of the River City Races.
Training: My training schedule varies based on whether I signed up for a 10k, half-marathon, or a Marathon. I run about 3-4 days a week, and cross train other days. I like to ride my bike, and work on strength training at home. With the exception of ice and thunder storms, I run in all weather conditions. It builds character and you have to be prepared for race day weather conditions.
Linley runs based on her soccer schedule and other activities. We run together based on our race plans. Right now we are training for the April 27th, Kentucky Derby Festival mini-Marathon with Stephanie Fish who sets up the Norton Sports Health training program. It's a great training program to get you to your goal and there are many youth runners involved.
Family:We have an great support system at home. My husband, Rob Shoaf, encourages us and gives thoughtful advice based on his knowledge from his years of being an elite runner.
Families, get your kids and together so you all can enjoy running, run/walking and celebrating your accomplishments. And HAVE FUN!
If you are thinking about registering for the Kentucky Derby Festival mini-Marathon or Marathon, please pick Linley as your race ambassador. She is working hard for your support!