Northwest Vein’s nurse practitioner, Marie Zornes knows all about healthy legs. She is an accomplished runner who has completed over 142 marathons (and counting). She has run practically every race in Tacoma, Puyallup, Pierce County, and Greater Seattle! Later this month, her runs will take her to Europe where she will compete in the London Marathon. She will relax afterwards by running the Paris Marathon AND the Zurich Marathon in consecutive weeks making it three marathons in two weeks! Marie brings that passion to her varicose vein patients in discussing the importance of healthy legs; she definitely practices her preachings. Keep reading to learn about Marie’s quest in her own words. Go Marie!
Where My Legs Will Take Me…
Later next week, I am off for my “Dream Come True” vacation. Now some of you might think of it is a nightmare come true, but I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. I am off to Europe to run three marathons in three countries, three Sundays in a row.
I ran my first marathon in 2005 and thought it was going to be a “one and done” kind of thing. But there was one training run where I ran with two of my neighbors. They both had ran several marathons. I asked what was their favorite and one said, “Paris, it starts down the Champs-Elysees and finishes at the Arc de Triomphe.” A seed was planted! But I hadn’t even run my first…yet.
After a few marathons under my belt, I realized the London Marathon was around the same time as the Paris Marathon. I began to think about how cool a trip would be to run both the Paris and London marathons. I began to talk about it more, but I had children still in school. I would say things like, “when both kids are out of high school, I will go run both of these marathons.”
My kids graduated high school and I finished NP school, but still I had no plans to go run. As it turns out, it is REALLY hard to get into the London Marathon. It is a lottery and chances are slim. In April 2014, I signed up for the Paris marathon (along with my husband) and put our names in to the lottery for London. In October, I was notified that I was a winner!!!!!
This year the races are 2 weeks a part, so what’s a girl to do? Find another country to run a marathon in, of course. Zurich it is! So April 12th my husband and I will run the Paris Marathon, April 19th I (and possibly my husband) will run the Zurich Marathon and on April 26th I will run the London Marathon, thus making my Marathon Dream come true.
I am so grateful that I have the health to complete this task. When I run marathons, I call it “A 26.2 mile tour of the city by foot”. It is a fun way to see the sites. I run for many reasons, but mostly my health, which is how it all started in the first place. Because I want to keep my legs healthy, I will wear my compression stockings on the plane, while I run and while sightseeing.
Don’t limit your health and where your legs can take you!
-Marie
