Your name and role in the Steeplechasers:

Wendy Allyn Rollison. I’m currently a coach for [the Frederick Women’s Festival 5K training] Group A. Group A is the group that brings everyone in and helps you find your pace.  Group A is designed for people new to running or returning after a break or injury.  We have a designated Pace that we work toward.  In that designation, we ask the participants to set their own goals.  We build strength, endurance and long-lasting bonds.

How long have you been a member? How long have you been in this role?

I have been a member of Steeplechases since June 2017, and I have been the Group A coach since 2023. I have coached for the Women’s Distance Festival Training, Ten K Training, and Half Marathon Training.

Are you training for anything in particular right now? 

I am currently training for the Annapolis Ten Miler.

Do you have any running partners?

I have the honor of training with Peggy Waxter, Darleen Husson, Beth Bowman Case, and Virginia Turner are my regular partners. They are all much faster than me and provide me with a standard to reach toward.

Tell us a little bit about your role in the Steeplechasers. What’s your favorite part about it?

I think my role in Steeplechasers is to cheer others forward to reach their training goals. I strongly believe that running and walking are the best exercise at any age. As an older and slower runner, I will testify to the fact that regular running and walking at any pace will lower your blood pressure, reduce your blood lipids panel, and improve your mood. I endorse running and walking with the Steeplechasers because I have been supported by many true athletes who have helped me on my journey. Steeplechasers who run at every pace have treated me with kindness and inclusion and I believe that this group of runners has a very special undercurrent. It is an undercurrent of kindness that is often missing in many other venues.  

If you could impart one piece of wisdom to the Steeps, what would it be? 

If I were to give one piece of wisdom to the Steeps, it would be that running is a metaphor for life. Sometimes you can be terrified of the hill and convince yourself that the hill is impossible. But if you take one step and then another, you will eventually see the hill for what it truly is, a series of steps. When you reach the top of the hill, you see the beauty of the hill, but you know it is really the series of steps that you took to get there.