How I Became an Accidental Athlete.

Confidence - The Accidental Athlete: How Running Changed My Life tracks the chronology of events and activities in my life that empowered me to call myself a runner and believe that I was, indeed, athletic. It describes someone who started out with no intention of being an athlete, with absolutely no awareness that she had athletic talent. It finishes with a call to action to each woman out there that may not have discovered who she is as an athlete and what talent and ability lies within.

Please join me in this book of discovery. My purpose is to inspire other women, of all different abilities, to be empowered and uncover Accidental Athletes too, at any age or stage in life.

This book was written to help you discover your own Athlete Within. I encourage you to read on about this empowered athlete and how my life was changed forever because of learning and growing through challenge, activity, and specifically, running.

While running was the glue that connected the pieces throughout my adult life, it is the story of discovery that I truly want to share. It is the fact that I learned to understand my inner strength and overcome inner fears that allowed me to grow as a woman and a human being. I want to emphasize growth and discovery as something that each of us seeks and some of us are lucky enough to find.

The title of this book describes a priceless gift presented to me, through luck, fate, and some of my own effort. Fortunately, I grew to recognize the value in tangible and intangible aspects of my life when I accidentally discovered that I was an athlete.

I want that same self-discovery opportunity for you.

Activate Your WOW,
Stephanie Atwood, Author, Coach, Runner, Empowered Woman

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Book Forward from Coach Lauren Ganes

I was extremely fortunate to meet Stephanie Atwood almost a decade ago. She continues to inspire me to reach goals I had never anticipated.

When I first met Stephanie I had already participated in triathlons and had just begun running races, but had not explored my full potential. With her guidance I shaved a half hour off my marathon!

With her motivation and expert coaching I transformed into a RUNNER. As I have aged, I have become a wiser and more strategic runner due to Coach Stephanie?s guidance.

Stephanie is an excellent coach, but it is her belief, understanding and encouragement in each of the women she trains that allows us to excel and explore our own, unique potential. Coach Stephanie guides us to strive high, without fear of failure and with the professional judgment of an experienced coach who knows just how far to push. She has high expectations, and uses her special gift as a coach to help us each discover our own unique ?best?, not some generic age-based or gender based guideline.

Stephanie and I have become good friends. She has always been supportive of my (new to me) athleticism and because of her encouragement I became a running coach.

Her story is compelling. She definitely lives her life with vigor and is still competitive after more than 40 years of running.

I know you will be inspired and enjoy reading about this unique woman who loves to share her wisdom and experience. She offers each of us the gift of finding our Athlete Within by starting with understanding how she discovered confidence and much more from The Accidental Athlete in her own life.

Lauren Ganes, Nationally Certified Run Coach, Competitive Runner, Go WOW Team