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Endurance, It’s All About Endurance
By Robin Dawson
Let’s face it. Some teams here will play eight matches in just four days.
That’s a lot of tennis, and that takes some serious endurance. Members of
the 3.5 women’s Wilmington Island Club team out of Savannah are no strangers
to staying in it for the long haul. Two of their team members ran full
marathons within the last three-and-a-half months.
Karin Best ran for a special reason. Her husband Mark has cancer and she
wants to do what she can to help find a cure. Best was part of the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training that ran the Country Music Marathon
in Nashville just three weeks ago. It was her first marathon and it took
six months for her to train and prepare. Along the way she dropped 70
pounds. So how does she feel, competing here in the State League
Championships so soon after running 26.2 miles? “Great, great, no
injuries,” she said. In addition to her time on the tennis court Best
continues to run, logging eight or nine miles at a time – no problem for her
these days. She said she’s now “a lifetime runner and a lifetime tennis
player.”
Teammate Jayme Eitner has also been putting in some serious miles. She’s
been a runner since high school. “I couldn’t drive, so I ran,” she said.
Eitner just finished her first full marathon in February. She is another
lifer when it comes to both tennis and running, but her marathon experience
wasn’t quite as pleasant as Best’s. “It hurt,” Eitner said quite
matter-of-factly.
Team Captain Miki Duval says she’s proud of her entire team. The ones who
have 26.2 under their belt and the ones who aren’t quite as crazy. Duval
says, “I love this team! We’ve tried for five seasons to make it to state
and we’re finally here. It’s a whole lot of fun!”
And if you’re wondering, Karin Best’s husband Mark is in remission. He still
receives regular maintenance chemo treatments, but the outlook is good.
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