We’re pleased to highlight Valerie Miller in our continued series of runner profiles. We hope you enjoy getting to learn a bit more about Valerie and we look forward to hearing more from her during our ultra-marathon panel at our next member meeting!
Valerie Miller moved to The Villages from Syracuse, NY in 2013. Her husband Ed’s best friend from Kindergarten moved here and encouraged the couple to come down for a visit in 2011. They enticed Valerie with the chance to stay here and run the Disney Princess Marathon. It worked! She and Ed bought their own place and then moved here full time in 2015.
Valerie’s working career spanned 32 years in library science, and she actively participated in the evolution of the role to include information technology by embracing computer use. In fact, Valerie enabled her school to have some of the first computers in the area due to her persistence and skills in grant writing!
Persistence is a hallmark of Valerie in her running too! She began running for fitness in her 20s spurred on by the classic movie Rocky where Sylvester Stallone showed the world how hard training, particularly running, could transform a person. But it was not until her 50s when she decided to up the ante to include marathon running. She ran her first Wineglass marathon with her NY running buddy, Jennifer, at age 57. In her 60’s she qualified for the Boston Marathon at the Wineglass marathon in October 2019. And she also began to race multi-day, multi-race events like Disney’s Dopey series, the Gasparilla Distance Classic and 3 ultra-marathons.
We don’t see Valerie at the start of TVRC training runs because she likes to hit the road in the very early predawn hours, but she frequently joins of for coffee at the end of the runs. She credits TVRC for bringing out her “running crazies” which helped her find the joy in the longer running distances. She counts races with her TVRC teammates among her very favorites – the Wineglass marathon she ran with Mary Lou while staying at her home in NY; the Space Coast race she ran with Phyllis and Mary Pat; the Marine Corp she slogged through with Lynn; and the Disney Dopey and Magical Moments races she did with Phyllis. The group has become her running family.
Valerie will bring her unique perspective on running long to the upcoming monthly membership meeting. Looking forward to hearing how she has parlayed her persistence into success at distance running.
The Villages Running Club 