Sue Breitbach-Fenn lives her life with this phrase in mind: For every setback, there’s a comeback.
So when she had both hips replaced in 2017 and was told she couldn’t run anymore, it didn’t slow her down.
Well, not too much.
The 64-year-old from Sheboygan Falls stayed active after her recovery and kept entering local races but would start at the back of the line and walk the course.
“I would just sign up as a runner and go to the back of the bus, as I like to joke, and go with the slower pace, so then that was fun,” she said.
It wasn’t until her daughter, Sarah, signed up for the ThedaCare Half Marathon as part of the Community First Fox Cities Marathon Presented by Miron Construction that Breitbach-Fenn found out there was a competitive walk division.
That’s all she needed to hear to get the competitive juices flowing again.
Breitbach-Fenn will compete in the ThedaCare Competitive Walk this weekend for the first time.
“I always have been a competitive person, so I always like to compete and I always say I was running off last night’s cookies, just to kind of stay in shape,” she said. “It was always just fun to compete.”
Breitbach-Fenn is not only proof that every setback can have a comeback, she’s also an example of what the Fox Cities Marathon weekend of events offers — something for everyone.
“I like how they say there’s a race for every pace, so that I think is super cool,” she said. “Whether someone’s 6 years old and out there with their dad or someone like me or physically challenged, I know a lot of people put those on their bucket list.”
As is her nature, Breitbach-Fenn has jumped in full speed on competitive walking. She has done research online, read books, attended clinics and has even been mentored by Olympic athlete Jordan Crawford of Menasha.
“As a racewalker I’m so excited because, I don’t know, ignorance has been bliss,” she said. “Who do I compare to? So it’ll be interesting to think of (it) like, ‘Woo, look at that girl go’ or ‘Oh, you’ve got some training to do.’”
Crawford moved to Wisconsin in 2023 from Atlanta and had the fastest time ever (1:41:09) a few months later in his competitive walk victory at the Fox Cities Marathon. He took third place last month in the Men’s 20K Racewalk final at the U.S. Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Crawford’s advice to Breitbach-Fenn and others who try competitive walking for the first time is to be prepared for a different kind of soreness.
“People are like, ‘Oh, you know, it looks easy. I can just walk.’ When you actually do it for a few meters yeah, you can do it for a few meters, but when you actually stack that out for a mile and in Sue’s case she’s going to be doing the Fox Cities Half Marathon Competitive Walk division, it can burn because you’re not using all the same muscles as you do running,” Crawford said.
“You’re using your shins more. You’re using your hips in a different way. It’s less pounding, so there’s less chance of injury, but it does use different muscles and if you’re not used to that, it is going to be kind of a learning curve there. Once you do get past that learning curve, though, you’re going to reap a lot of benefits.”
Breitbach-Fenn has already seen the benefits and is thrilled to still be going strong eight years after having both hips replaced.
“We never fully arrive at a perfect life,” she said. “You learn to coexist with the challenges, so that’s what I always try to think. I’m a strong woman of faith, so I always know that God says a cheerful heart is good medicine, so you know not only the drugs or the therapies that you have to do, just be cheery and think of others.”
Fox Cities Marathon schedule
Friday, Sept. 19
Huggies Diaper Dash and Toddler Trot, 4 to 6 p.m., Fox Cities Stadium
Guardian Kids Fun Run, 5:45 to 7:30 p.m., Fox Cities Stadium
Nutritional Healing Health and Wellness Expo, 4 to 8 p.m., Community First Champion Center
Saturday, Sept. 20
Ascension 5K Run/Walk and Fleet Farm Fox Valley 10K Run/Walk, 9 a.m., Riverside Park, Neenah
Nutritional Healing Health and Wellness Expo, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Community First Champion Center
Sunday, Sept. 21
Community First Fox Cities Marathon, ThedaCare Half Marathon and Competitive Walk, Orthopedic Sports Medicine Specialists Relay Marathon, 6:55 a.m., start at UWO-Fox Cities, finish at Riverside Park, Neenah
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Racewalking means new goals for Fox Cities Marathon entrant: ‘Coexist with the challenges’
Reporting by Mike Sherry, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
