Bodies in Motion WHEN SPORT CHANGES A PERSON’S WORLD
Physical activity is critical for health, but for these Lake Highlands residents, it is an obsession that runs deep. They feel most alive with the pounding of footsteps, the beads of sweat and the competitive drive that comes with athletic prowess. If you don’t think that sports have the power to change lives, read on — their stories will make you a believer.
Best foot forward
“If I didn’t have running, I would either be dead or in jail — probably both.”
Ron McCracken has run more than 6,000 consecutive days. To him, it is therapy, and also kind of an addiction.
or keep scrolling for more of the March cover story
Fighting Chance
“The moment you step on the mat you forget about the stresses of life. Problems at home all go away.”
Perched behind his desk at Lake Highlands’ RCJ Machado Jiu-Jitsu studio, wire-rimmed glasses on his nose, piles of paperwork at his fingertips and a rescued Chihuahua mix named Rocky at his feet — Marcio Santos has come a long way since his days as a rebellious teenager picking fights on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
Racing Genes
"This is a form of family bonding, if unusual, for which she is eternally grateful. “It is what our family does, and I love that.""
There’s a meme making the rounds that goes, “How can you tell if someone’s run a marathon? Don’t worry, they will tell you.” Lindsey Taylor has tackled several, but when she says so, she sounds more apologetic than braggadocios.
Pedal power
“Getting this bike was really some of the best medicine anyone has ever prescribed to me.”
The first time Heather McRae went to a Meat Fight event, which is an annual barbecue in Dallas that raises funds for the National MS Society, she was skeptical. “The first year on the way to the event I remember telling my husband, ‘It’s really weird going to an event that’s about a disease I have,’” she says, “but when I got there it wasn’t like that at all. It was so uplifting and empowering."
We caught up with a few athletes who have graced Advocate’s pages in the past
(IT WASN’T EASY, AND WE ARE OUT OF BREATH).