CHARISA CLARKSON
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Background: I ran in high school and college for fun, but never on a team competitively. I spent several years running marathons and eventually discovered the sport of triathlon.
Racing Competitively Since: Ran my first marathon in 1996 (albeit rather slowly!), raced as a pro triathlete from 2010-2015.
PRs:
5K: 17:57 (run split, Possibilities Triathlon, 2013)
10K: 38:00 (run split, San Diego International Triathlon, 2014)
Half Marathon: 1:24 (run split, Rev3 Wisconsin Half Ironman, 2012)
Marathon: 3:05 (run split, Ironman Wisconsin, 2012)
Highlights: I have raced 20 full Ironman distance races and once lost one by only 48 seconds. For years this bothered me, but now I'm actually quite proud of it - it was a race where I gave everything all day chasing a win. I think all we can ever ask of ourselves is if we gave everything we could. On that day I did.
The Fun Questions:
Favorite Race: Escape from Alcatraz and Wildflower (they are triathlons, but they have brutally hard & super fun runs in them!)
Favorite Workout: Track workouts
Words to Live By: Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.
Why I Choose to Run for PRT: The girls are amazing -both in racing and life! Also misery loves company, so hard workouts just aren't as hard with others!
Favorite PRT Memory: I love racing on a team for dirt dog and competing with the girls and encouraging our teammates.
What I Like to Do Besides Running: photography, travel, bike, swim, hike, float on a lake, drink coffee with friends