Happy Friday y’all!
We hope y’all are heading into a truly fantastic weekend! Today we wanted to introduce y’all to one of the most inspirational young women we are lucky to have gotten to know, Sarah Chase Dulske. Sarah Chase chatted with us about what keeps her running, her biggest inspiration, and plans for her incredibly bright future. Keep on reading for more and let yourself be inspired on this beautiful Friday afternoon!
We hope y’all are heading into a truly fantastic weekend! Today we wanted to introduce y’all to one of the most inspirational young women we are lucky to have gotten to know, Sarah Chase Dulske. Sarah Chase chatted with us about what keeps her running, her biggest inspiration, and plans for her incredibly bright future. Keep on reading for more and let yourself be inspired on this beautiful Friday afternoon!
{Tell us a bit about yourself!}
My name is Sarah Chase Dulske. I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. I graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in 2015 and then moved to Dallas, Texas to begin studying Biology and Psychology at Southern Methodist University. I will begin my senior year in August and hope to continue on to medical school after I graduate!
{When did you begin running and why?}
I began running during my senior year in high school. There were two driving forces that I believe motivated me to begin my running journey. The first was my decision to pursue a career in medicine rather than a career in dance. I began taking dance classes when I was 6 years old and danced competitively with Xpress Dance Company for 10 years throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years. Once the time came for me to make my college decision, I seriously considered pursuing dance but ultimately decided to study the sciences. Dance was not only an incredible creative outlet, but also a great means of exercise for me for many years. I wanted to make sure that I continued to exercise on a regular basis once I headed off to college, so I downloaded the “Couch to 5K” app and slowly worked my way up to running a 5K.
During that same year, my dad was training for an Ironman triathlon (a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike-ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run). As my mileage slowly increased, I began joining my dad on some of his shorter training runs. This was such a great way for my dad and I to spend time together, and it motivated me to continue running after I began.
My name is Sarah Chase Dulske. I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. I graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in 2015 and then moved to Dallas, Texas to begin studying Biology and Psychology at Southern Methodist University. I will begin my senior year in August and hope to continue on to medical school after I graduate!
{When did you begin running and why?}
I began running during my senior year in high school. There were two driving forces that I believe motivated me to begin my running journey. The first was my decision to pursue a career in medicine rather than a career in dance. I began taking dance classes when I was 6 years old and danced competitively with Xpress Dance Company for 10 years throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years. Once the time came for me to make my college decision, I seriously considered pursuing dance but ultimately decided to study the sciences. Dance was not only an incredible creative outlet, but also a great means of exercise for me for many years. I wanted to make sure that I continued to exercise on a regular basis once I headed off to college, so I downloaded the “Couch to 5K” app and slowly worked my way up to running a 5K.
During that same year, my dad was training for an Ironman triathlon (a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike-ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run). As my mileage slowly increased, I began joining my dad on some of his shorter training runs. This was such a great way for my dad and I to spend time together, and it motivated me to continue running after I began.
 EJ Autism Foundation |  Sarah Chase after completing the Skyline Half-Marathon in Dallas. |
{Tell us about some of the other races you’ve competed in.}
My very first “official” race was the Dallas County Race for the Cure 5K in October 2015. I decided to sign up for this race and raise money for the Susan G. Koman Foundation in honor of my grandmother who passed away from breast cancer in 1997. That same year, my dad and I ran in the Fleet Feet Turkey Trot 8K while I was back in Jackson over the Thanksgiving holiday. In May of 2016, I completed the Magnolia Meltdown half-marathon. Less than a year later, I ran in the Skyline half-marathon in Dallas. My first full marathon was in March 2018 in Modesto, California and I am currently training for my second marathon!!
Throughout my training journey, I have learned so much about self-discipline and work-ethic. When it comes to running, you get out what you put in and improvement requires sacrifice; however, nothing compares to the feeling that comes with achieving a goal that you once thought was impossible. Running has taught me that hard-work, sacrifice, and determination are valuable tools in all aspects of life.
{What is your biggest inspiration?}
Right now, my biggest inspiration is Shalane Flanagan. In November of 2017, I watched as Flanagan crossed the finish line to become the first American female to win the TCS NYC Marathon in 40 years. I honestly cannot find the words to describe how this moment felt, but her victory ultimately inspired me to set a new running goal for myself.
Up until this point, I never had a desire to run a full-marathon. Training for two half-marathons had been hard enough! But watching Flanagan drop to her knees after claiming her new title as TCS NYC Marathon Champion changed everything for me, and I began training for my first full-marathon shortly after I returned to Dallas.
My very first “official” race was the Dallas County Race for the Cure 5K in October 2015. I decided to sign up for this race and raise money for the Susan G. Koman Foundation in honor of my grandmother who passed away from breast cancer in 1997. That same year, my dad and I ran in the Fleet Feet Turkey Trot 8K while I was back in Jackson over the Thanksgiving holiday. In May of 2016, I completed the Magnolia Meltdown half-marathon. Less than a year later, I ran in the Skyline half-marathon in Dallas. My first full marathon was in March 2018 in Modesto, California and I am currently training for my second marathon!!
Throughout my training journey, I have learned so much about self-discipline and work-ethic. When it comes to running, you get out what you put in and improvement requires sacrifice; however, nothing compares to the feeling that comes with achieving a goal that you once thought was impossible. Running has taught me that hard-work, sacrifice, and determination are valuable tools in all aspects of life.
{What is your biggest inspiration?}
Right now, my biggest inspiration is Shalane Flanagan. In November of 2017, I watched as Flanagan crossed the finish line to become the first American female to win the TCS NYC Marathon in 40 years. I honestly cannot find the words to describe how this moment felt, but her victory ultimately inspired me to set a new running goal for myself.
Up until this point, I never had a desire to run a full-marathon. Training for two half-marathons had been hard enough! But watching Flanagan drop to her knees after claiming her new title as TCS NYC Marathon Champion changed everything for me, and I began training for my first full-marathon shortly after I returned to Dallas.
Mike and Sarah Chase Dulske after completing the Fleet Feet Turkey Trot 8k.
{Tell me a little bit about the organization you're raising money for. Why did you chose to support this organization?}
The crazy thing about my story is that I never in a million years would have thought that I would be running in that same marathon the very next year. Let me give you some background: The TCS NYC Marathon is the largest marathon IN THE WORLD! To get a chance to run in this race, you either have to qualify (which basically requires you to be an Olympic athlete, like Shalane Flanagan) or you have to put your name in a lottery with thousands of other people in hopes of your name being chosen. So, you can see why I never thought I would get to be one of the 51,000 runners participating in the race this November.
So, here is my story: The TCS NYC Marathon gives a number of lottery tickets to various charities each year which are then given out to runners that run on behalf of these organizations as a means of fundraising. The EJ Autism Foundation is one such charity. This foundation is extremely important to my family, as it was founded by one of my parents' closest college friends, Bea Huste-Petersen. Bea has four beautiful children, Maggie, Eric, Jack, and Joy, and she and her husband, Pat Peterson, started the foundation after both of their boys were diagnosed with autism. The EJ Autism Foundation is a 501c3 charity that works to increase autism awareness and raise funds for programs that work with children on the spectrum. In 2015, Pat passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. So now Bea runs the Foundation, works as a physician’s assistant at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic, and raises four children ALL BY HERSELF! She is superwoman.
One Thursday afternoon in March, Bea texted my mom and asked her if I wanted one of the EJ Austin Foundation lottery tickets!! It was a no-brainer. I set up my fundraising page the very same day and began training!
{How can people support you on this journey?}
Please donate!! I have set a very ambitious fundraising goal of $4,000, so every single dollar helps. To donate visit my website:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/ej-autism-foundation-nyc-2018/sarah-chasedulske
Here I will also post updates throughout my training process as a way for others to keep up with my training journey! I would also greatly appreciate prayers, specifically that I might remain injury-free and that I will be able to easily keep up with my training once the school year starts again in August.
{What advice would you give someone working towards achieving a goal? }
My advice for anyone working towards achieving a goal would be to not be afraid of failure. There will be good days and there will be bad days, but I have found that I have experienced the most growth during the moments that I have pressed on in the midst of failure.
For more on the EJ Autism Foundation please visit their website here.
The crazy thing about my story is that I never in a million years would have thought that I would be running in that same marathon the very next year. Let me give you some background: The TCS NYC Marathon is the largest marathon IN THE WORLD! To get a chance to run in this race, you either have to qualify (which basically requires you to be an Olympic athlete, like Shalane Flanagan) or you have to put your name in a lottery with thousands of other people in hopes of your name being chosen. So, you can see why I never thought I would get to be one of the 51,000 runners participating in the race this November.
So, here is my story: The TCS NYC Marathon gives a number of lottery tickets to various charities each year which are then given out to runners that run on behalf of these organizations as a means of fundraising. The EJ Autism Foundation is one such charity. This foundation is extremely important to my family, as it was founded by one of my parents' closest college friends, Bea Huste-Petersen. Bea has four beautiful children, Maggie, Eric, Jack, and Joy, and she and her husband, Pat Peterson, started the foundation after both of their boys were diagnosed with autism. The EJ Autism Foundation is a 501c3 charity that works to increase autism awareness and raise funds for programs that work with children on the spectrum. In 2015, Pat passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. So now Bea runs the Foundation, works as a physician’s assistant at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic, and raises four children ALL BY HERSELF! She is superwoman.
One Thursday afternoon in March, Bea texted my mom and asked her if I wanted one of the EJ Austin Foundation lottery tickets!! It was a no-brainer. I set up my fundraising page the very same day and began training!
{How can people support you on this journey?}
Please donate!! I have set a very ambitious fundraising goal of $4,000, so every single dollar helps. To donate visit my website:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/ej-autism-foundation-nyc-2018/sarah-chasedulske
Here I will also post updates throughout my training process as a way for others to keep up with my training journey! I would also greatly appreciate prayers, specifically that I might remain injury-free and that I will be able to easily keep up with my training once the school year starts again in August.
{What advice would you give someone working towards achieving a goal? }
My advice for anyone working towards achieving a goal would be to not be afraid of failure. There will be good days and there will be bad days, but I have found that I have experienced the most growth during the moments that I have pressed on in the midst of failure.
For more on the EJ Autism Foundation please visit their website here.
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