Sarah Shearer
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The first time I remember meeting this new East Nasty of the Week, she was just returning to our camp site after completing the Warrior Dash course 12 hours before the rest of us. She showed us the cuts on her legs, and told us all about the dangers and thrills that awaited us the next day. We all came to the consensus that this new girl was pretty badass! The next day the rest of us put on our war paint, camo shorts, and East Nasty tank tops, and headed out for the course. Little did I know that Sarah Shearer would be doing the course one more time, thus solidifying just how badass she was indeed!!! Say hello to our new ENOW, Sarah Shearer!
Sarah was born in the countryside of western Pennsylvania. In her early years, she bounced around a good amount, from Laurel, Maryland to Parkesburg, PA, and then finally settling in the tri-cities of east Tennessee. She was very much a child of nature, spending almost all of her free time outdoors, roller-skating around her neighborhood, and spending summers at the local pool. When she was 17, she became a lifeguard at the pool, and on occasion she would run a little 3 mile trail loop close by.
For college, Sarah headed off to Jackson, Mississippi, to attend Belhaven College on an art scholarship. Sure, she had never been there before, but she saw the opportunity as an adventure. In her freshman year, she was convinced to join the cross-country team, but after a year of it, she got burnt out. She graduated from Belhaven in 1999 with Fine Arts degree, and a day later, she moved to Nashville.
Sarah moved to Nashville with her fiancé, Jon Shearer. They meet while camping in North Carolina years before, and Jon being the nice guy that he is, moved to Jackson while Sarah finished college. After graduation, they decided to head back to where Jon was living before his move, and they have called Nashville home ever since. Sarah holds down two different jobs here, one as a commissioned artist and another as the Assistant Director to Community Education at Watkins College of Art and Design. For those that did not buy a running calendar this year, you missed out on some of Sarah’s remarkable artwork. Here is an example of a dog that she was commissioned to paint.
sara art 2
Sarah began training with the East Nasty Running Group in January of 2010. Her co-worker, Channing Quinn, convinced Sarah to train with the ½ marathon group. Once she started meeting other East Nastys, and after her great performance in the 2010 Country Music Half Marathon, she began looking for other opportunities to run with the group, thus the previously mentioned Warrior Dash. Since then she has also participated in a couple of triathlons, the Bourbon Chase relay, the Tough Mudder, and the Nashville Half, which she set a new PR with a time of 1.56.24. And now she is in training for her first full marathon, which will take place in Chicago this fall.
Finally, it needs to be mentioned that Sarah and Jon will be celebrating their 11th year of marriage this weekend!!! Congratulations to them and all that you two have accomplished together. But one last note, that many of you probably don’t know about Sarah Shearer…she is a natural blond! And for the very first time on the world wide web, here is a picture of Sarah 11 years ago at her wedding. ENJOY!!!
PensiveBlondSarah