ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Keya Price’s typical work day is spent in the halls of Louis Gale Hospital, working in the ICU and providing nutritional support to patients.
“I went to Virginia Tech. I took an introductory nutrition class, loved it, and knew that’s what I had to do,” she says.
Price also developed a new hobby while in Blacksburg, which became an important part of her life.
“I wasn’t really interested in running in high school, I was a volleyball player, a cheerleader, a tennis player, a dancer, but then I went into engineering and didn’t do that anymore. So I thought, ‘Okay, what do I do? ?” It was like that. And I started running. I signed up for the first 5,000 during my freshman year of college and have continued to do so. ”
Since then, she has taken an interest in running and started participating in special events for 58,000 selected runners around the world.
“Not many people know about it, unless they’re in the running community, but there’s something called the Abbott World Major Marathon, and there are six, so winning all six is a big goal for a lot of people. There is a lottery system that allows international runners to participate, so I applied for a lottery to enter these races several years ago, and the first one I won was in Berlin.
So late last month, Keya and her husband boarded an international flight to Germany to run in their first overseas Abbott World Major Marathon, where they ran a personal best.
“Unlike where I train here in Roanoke, the racetrack is very flat, so it made for a pretty fast day back then as well. I train here in 95 degree heat and extreme humidity. We got there and it was about 45 to 50 degrees, which was amazing. We got to see the whole city on foot and the conditions were perfect. I actually PRed my marathon time and was able to shave 20 minutes off my fastest marathon time, which was great.”
Price plans to continue his quest to run all six marathons, having already completed three of his U.S. options. She is grateful for the miles she was able to cover by running.
“I had a lifelong goal of traveling and seeing the world, and having something that I’m very passionate about, taking my family, and all of us doing all this.” The fact that we can experience it and put it together means we’ve come full circle. It’s amazing. I felt like I grew up always being told to “follow your dreams.” It’s important and you can do it. ”
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