Carrie Seigenthaler has two half-marathons under her belt, both completed at the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.
She’s also competed in a bunch of 10Ks and 5Ks throughout California, including Coronado’s Valentine’s Day 10K and Rady Children’s Hospital Turkey Trot, on Thanksgiving Day.
Talk about “running blind” – Carrie Seigenthaler has been doing it all her life. She has been blind since birth.
She runs these races with the assistance of a “guide runner,” often her husband of 27 years, Dan. For her first Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, she used a guide runner from North Carolina, but when he was injured in 2015, Carrie asked Dan if would step up for this year’s 13-mile event. “Dan said ‘Of course I’ll do it for you,’” she recalled, beaming. “Even though he hates to run!”
In preparation for this year’s Rock ‘n Roll marathon (held last Sunday, June 4) the couple began training in early spring, with runs that grew increasingly longer. Also, last December, Carrie began working out at Coronado Fitness Club twice a week with Chris Foote, a personal trainer and the gym’s owner.
All systems were go… until on practice runs, a leg injury that Dan had sustained three years ago flared up and he began limping at mile six or seven. Carrie remembers the initial injury: “We were horseback riding in Colorado and Dan reached down from his horse to open a gate and his leg got caught in a weird way in the stirrup. He tore his calf muscle.”
Although the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon offered to find Carrie another guide, she made a hard decision two weeks prior to the race, deciding to skip this year’s event. “I’ve been spoiled having Dan as my guide,” she said. “We have such great communication. But the bottom line is that my marriage and Dan’s health is far more important than any race.”
And so the couple is already planning ahead, looking for a half marathon to run in January.
Carrie Seigenthaler is a graduate of California State University Long Beach, where she earned a degree in psychology. She grew up in Long Beach, where she met her future husband in high school. Dan Seigenthaler is a retired Navy captain who now works at SPAwar Systems Center. The couple has a daughter, Maya.
Now, as the Seigenthalers move into middle age, top conditioning is becoming more important to them both. Over a decade ago, Carrie suffered a bad fall: as she was descending stairs in her home, she caught her shoe in the hem of her skirt.
“I was carrying Maya, who was 18 months old, and in an effort to protect her, I twisted my body sideways,” she said. “I dislocated two discs.”
As a result of that fall, Carrie says she will always have an injured back “and that’s where body conditioning makes a huge difference,” she said.
She practices yoga at Coronado Fitness Club with Danell Dwaileebe and on the beach with Mary Farley. “If I go to yoga I can stretch my spine and keep it supple, and if I work out in the gym and keep my core really strong, I don’t have problems,” she said. Carrie added that being a positive role model to her daughter is another motivation.
“Maya is 12 and I want to be able to go horseback riding with her and have her see me do that things every other mom would do and to show her that when things are difficult, you can still have things you love to do and be really active,” she said.
Carrie met Chris Foote and his wife Hattie at the Coronado Yacht Club where both families have membership. She started working out at Chris’s club about two years ago, then added half hour training sessions with Chris twice a week last December. “I was doing really well with my running, and was aerobically fit but I wanted to strengthen the opposing muscles – as a runner my quads get strong; but I wanted to strengthen my hamstrings,” she explained. “I knew I had to get more muscularly strong to go to the next level as a runner.”
Carrie said she has experienced increased stamina from her workouts in unexpected ways. “Like when we’re out sailing on the ocean, Dan is working the rigging. But I’m the one grinding the sails. I used to come off the boat completely worn out, and I’d need three Advils and sleep. But we went out sailing on Dan’s birthday in April and when we got back in, I said, ‘Hey, I don’t hurt this time. Maybe in four hours I’ll hurt.’ But four hours later, I was fine, so then I thought, ‘Well, maybe tomorrow morning.’ But the next day I was fine.
“I’ll be 52 this summer and as we age we need to be more conscious and actively involved in our health. Personal training was the best gift I’ve ever given myself,” she attests.
“I’ve never flinched on paying for tutoring or horseback riding lessons for my daughter. But to spend money on training for myself felt frivolous. Not anymore! I’m not stopping,” she promised.
Carrie works for AARP, leading a nationwide team that follows up on issues from the Attorney General’s office and Better Business Bureau. “I’m a fast typist and a great editor,” Carrie said proudly, and shared a tip. “I tell Maya that she should always read her papers out loud before she submits them because our minds are programmed to think that words or letters are there on the page when they’re not. I don’t have that problem – the technology I use reads my words out loud to me.”
Carrie said that living in Coronado has been stellar, not only from its accessibility and safety, but because of the kindness of its people.
“Here’s an example,” she said. “I go to Costa Azul a lot, always have. When Maya was little, she might see a friend at another table and get up to talk with them. Brant or one of the waiters would say, ‘No worries, Carrie. She’s right here and we’ve got our eye on her.’ Coronado is that kind of community, with people who look out for one another.”
Likewise, at the fitness club she has found that Chris “is all heart” and the staff is like family.
“Chris never made me feel like the blind girl in the gym,” Carrie said. “And it’s huge for me when someone doesn’t treat me differently than others.
“He finds the point where you would normally work out and then stop, then he pushes you a bit. He makes it a joy to work out.”
After seeing the positive results that Carrie has achieved with her training regimen, Dan is beginning training sessions with Chris to strengthen his legs.
“He wants to be ready for that next race,” said Carrie.
Submitted content by Kris Grant
