Jill Bidwell McCauslin

I have lived in various parts of northern Summit County for over 25 years and recently moved across the border from Hudson to Stow.

About 8 years ago, I took up running. Not being an athletic child or adult, I finally decided I had to start taking better care of myself. Imagine my surprise to discover that I really liked running and spending time at the gym.

I ran my first 5 K about six years ago. Since then I’ve run numerous 5 Ks and 10 Ks. I’ve managed to run some races while on different vacations. It’s a great way to see a town and get unique t-shirts.

Eventually, I decided to start running further than 5K.  Twice I signed up to run on relay teams for the Akron Marathon. I worked up to a half marathon and have run the Akron Marathon (half) twice and the Cleveland marathon (again, the half) once. I’d love to do some destination races. My goal is to pick a half marathon somewhere and then travel there to run it.

I am a big believer in cross training so I do a lot of strength training and high intensity interval training at my gym. I also try to fit yoga into my schedule. I’ve won my age group in my gym’s fitness challenge several times. I love feeling strong even though it’s a challenge for me.

I’ve competed in one indoor triathlon and keep thinking that I should try to do more triathlons. I do some swimming and some indoor cycling. My goal is to be able to become a strong enough swimmer and a competent enough bicyclist to be able to do a sprint triathlon.

One of the things I’ve learned is that all of these things are easier to do when you have a community and so I decided to join Team ER. Making friends and having some moral support is great. I look forward to training with other Team ER members and to participating in team events.