Meet Rock Star Ruth Bunsie

You are here > Home > 2009 Heavy Medal Series > Heavy Medal Rock Stars! > Meet Rock Star Ruth Bunsie

Ruth Bunsie's Journey

My whirlwind journey began on June 5, 2005, 6 days after my 50th birthday. I ran my first Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, San Diego with a small group of great and wonderful people representing the ‘American Stroke Association.’ I completed the run in 5:57, feeling great physically and emotionally.

Flying back home (Atlanta) in high spirits, my roomie Clarice Chambers and I decided to do the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Virginia Beach half marathon scheduled for Labor Day in September 2005, a half marathon and a vacation, great!

After my Virginia Beach race, my second Rock ‘n’ Roll experience, I decided to do the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona race in January 2006. By this time, the third Rock ‘n’ Roll race, high energy, loud blaring band music, great cheering groups, dedicated volunteers, bright colored costumes, runners representing various characters from Elvis Presley to you name it, participants from all over the world, and the wonderful area residents who came out to cheer and help, got me so pumped I realized something was happening to me.

Reading the various flyers and magazines I learned that there were four more Rock ‘n’ Roll races scheduled throughout the year. I further learned that when one completed a series of assigned races, one earned extra medals. My eyes and my heart got fixed on the ‘Grand Slam’ heavy medal. The requirements: completing two full and two half Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons. To accomplish this, I prepared a schedule of my races, training, and study time for a medical course I was pursuing. I shared my plan and schedule races to my main training buddies: Clarice Chambers, Mary Gordon, Catherine Bolton, Pam Fitzpatrick and James Jackson with the intent that I be not deterred.

In April of 2006, I completed the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville. The Country Music run was great! Again, good band music, great entertainment, lots of food but a bit of disappointment when I had to switch from doing a full marathon to doing the half marathon to get back to Atlanta in time to assist in sending my daughter off to her senior prom. I was caught between two great events, but family matters took precedence.

Two months later here I am, San Diego, for the second time rockin’ n rollin’, June 2006. This is familiar territory, second time no sweat, enjoyed the run like I did the first time. This I would say is my favorite race. It was my first marathon race then. It was great, I enjoyed it a lot and it is the most memorable. It is also what I call my “marathon spearhead.”

Another repeat run for me was next, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, Virginia Beach, September 4, 2006. The weather was hot, but not too hot for me. The heat was on the Grand Slam heavy medal and it was looking bright and as hot as the summer sun! My eyes and heart remained fixed. With my fourth Rock ‘n’ Roll race completed, I was still feeling great, high-spirited, injury free and no fatigue.

Here I am, the ninth month in 2006 and I had completed 4 races (2 full, 2 halves). I am still at my 9-5 job, six months into my medical class, and training down to zero. I’m now looking at my scheduled runs for 2006. My running buddies and I always checked with each other for a briefing of each run and to see about training. During my chat with roomie Clarice she mentioned that she might be going to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, San Jose alone. Without thinking twice I said no, we always travel together, room together, I’m in. I’ll do the run. Then it dawned on me that I would have completed all 5 events in the Rock ‘n’ Roll series and would earn the new coveted ‘Rock Star’ medal, WOW! This is great, now I can truly brag amongst my running buddies.

Arriving in San Jose, October 2006 was my first visit to the Northern California city. It didn’t feel as if I was still in America. It was so different. The environment was slow paced, transportation made getting around very easy and less rushed than the other cities. This event was by far the easiest. It seemed to finish so quickly. No stress, no hassle, no injury. I asked Clarice, did we just run a race or was that just training? After the run Clarice and I went for a train ride and a trip to the mall. We got back to the hotel late that night. But as usual, we stayed up to chat. This time was no different. We stayed up even later looking back at the whole journey, earning extra medals, going to the expos, the experience and the fun times we had. It was an adventure! I completed all the races in high spirit, injury free and with deep satisfaction.

Fortunately for me, the only hardship endured during this whirlwind journey was that I did not have enough time to put into training as I would have liked. The Rock Star is a great feeling of accomplishment. I set my own standard, requirements and pace. There was no pressure, only focus and determination, and the great thing is that it was all mine.

I chose the Rock ‘n’ Roll series because it was convenient. The events are all domestic and at the same time allowed for some traveling, (air or car) which is something I like to do. It afforded me time away from work and home, and a change of scenery. Participating in these events allowed me to de-stress, exercise, relax, to be physically fit, to stay healthy, receive a lot of compliments, meet new people and share in good healthy conversations. Above all it gave me a big boost in self-motivation. I was motivated to be a part of this elite group of runners, to challenge my training buddies and myself. To be an inspiration to my friends and family and to earn these lovely extra medals. The fact that I accomplished what I set out to do will be a reminder to me that I can do anything I set my mind to do. And I will have all these beautiful heavy medals as a keepsake and a great show piece.

For anyone considering doing all 5 events in the Rock ‘n’ Roll series, I would encourage you to go for it! If I can do it, you can too. It’s a lot of fun, a great feeling of accomplishment and a challenge that is achievable. Be focused, train well, and be determined to complete each run. Then be proud and enjoy your medals as they roll in. This was a tremendous experience and a wonderful opportunity to share my story. I hope it has inspired you.

<< Back to Meet the Rock Stars