James L. Davis
The sun is only considering peeking over the horizon when Genevieve Lake slips on her running shoes and hits the trail, one foot kicking up dust after another as she sets her pace for the day.
It is a time of the day that she enjoys most as she pushes her body a little faster or a little farther, depending on what her training schedule calls for.
“The early morning is my favorite time to run. It’s a good way to work out your frustrations and running is addictive. It’s a good way to stay healthy,” Genevieve said.
Genevieve has been running for 35 years and said she started when her second son was 9 months old.
Today, with seven grown children, 22 grandchildren and two great grandchildren, Genevieve is in training for a half marathon. She will join others for the Huntington Heritage Days half marathon on July 4 and push herself to complete the 13.1 mile course down Huntington Canyon.
She ran in the Salt Lake City Marathon earlier this year with her friend and running partner, Staci Moss and the two will tackle the Heritage Days Half Marathon together as well.
Genevieve, Staci and Terri Bennett run normally three times a week in a regimented schedule they follow from Runner’s World Magazine that gets them in shape for a marathon.
Staci completed her first half marathon in Moab last year, but Genevieve did not go along with her friend for that run.
“We hadn’t been training that much and I didn’t feel like I was up to it,” she said.
Genevieve, a registered nurse for Emery Medical Center, said it was her sister who got her started running years ago when she lived in the Salt Lake area. Her sister, Mary Ellen Green, took Genevieve to the Kearns Recreation Center where an instructor started them out running around the gym.
“When we got to a mile we went out to the track and when we got to a mile and a half we went out on the road,” Genevieve said.
She’s been running since then and except for a few minor injuries she hasn’t stopped.
Raised in Orangeville she moved to Salt Lake for 15 years with her husband, Keith. In 1978 Keith was hired at Hunter Power Plant and they moved to Castle Dale and Genevieve ran in a half marathon back then that was called the River Bottom Run.
The River Bottom Run eventually faded away and Genevieve said she has seen the interest in running peak and fall over the years.
“It seems like it is always going in spurts. It died out for a while and now it is coming back,” she said.
Two of Genevieve’s daughters, Belinda Peacock and Sheryl Worsley have also started running recently and Genevieve is not sure if it is because she has inspired them or talked them into it.
Staci Moss has pointed to Genevieve as her inspiration for running and Genevieve points to her own sister as her inspiration, but she also finds inspiration in people everywhere.
“Anyone who gets out and does something is an inspiration to me. I applaud anyone who will do that.”
She also points to her running companions, Staci and Terry as sources of motivation. “If you have someone to go with you it helps a lot. Some mornings you just don’t feel like getting up and they call and then you get out of bed and go,” she said.
At 63, Genevieve doesn’t see an end to her running career anytime soon and in the early morning hours as the sun climbs above the horizon she will be on the trail, her shoes kicking up dust as she trains.
“I’ve got a joke about running with a walker,” she says with a smile.
