Ashburn's Masters Gold Medal Runner

When first meeting Julie Hayden, the 51-year-old mother of two’s fitness is apparent. Her status is not.

This modest Ashburn woman is more than your average gym-goer—she’s a world-class runner with a gold medal from the World Masters Indoor Championship to prove it.

Hayden moved to Ashburn from the United Kingdom in 1996 because of her husband’s job. After searching throughout the region for the right home and community, it was the Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion that sold them on Ashburn.

Hayden played field hockey in college as she studied to be a physical education teacher but did not realize the toll was taking on her back and knees until she reached her late 30s. So she returned to running, a less demanding activity that had kept her fit during her youth.

“I went back to running because I only had to answer to myself, and my body could take it,” explained Hayden.

When Hayden first moved to Ashburn, she started with local 5K and 10K races. As she built confidence, she ventured into DC for more competitive races. Eventually, she discovered the track scene at the Potomac Valley Track Club, the largest track club in the Metropolitan Washington area, and her masters track career took off. In track and field, masters are considered athletes 35 and over.

As Hayden’s success grew on the track, she joined a Southern California-based team. Soon she realized that there was more to being part of a team than winning races.

“Our young, single, male coach couldn’t understand the concept of a working women,“ stated Hayden.

So with like-minded women, Hayden founded the Athena Track Club, a nationwide club for women masters. Members of the women’s-only club better understand the demands of being a mom and a wife, while working and pursuing dreams, because that’s who they are.

“We have so much in common and if someone has a family commitment, we respect that,” said Hayden.

Members of the group — many are ranked among the best in their age groups at the national level — share hotel rooms and compete against one another on the track. Once the race is over, they return to being good friends. To them, the club is about much more winning the race.

“We can laugh at ourselves and know in the big scheme of things that it is not that important,” Hayden said. “It is our little escape.”

While it may be an escape for Hayden, it is one at which she succeeds. Last year, at the 2010 World Masters Indoor Championship in Kamloops, British Columbia, Hayden took the gold medal in the 800m, the silver in the 400m and the bronze in the 1500m. She also won the gold medal in the 400m at the U.S. Masters Indoor Championship. Along with her fellow Athena Track Club teammates, she holds the masters world-record for the indoor 4 X 800 relay.

Hayden is not free from the aches and pains that come with age. She suffers from arthritis in her knees, a herniated disc, and plain old wear and tear from all her years of being an athlete. She knows to listen to her body and she cross-trains much more than she used to.

“Growing up, runners only ran,” she said. “Now, runners are smarter and know about strength training, cross-training and using the pool.”

Hayden offers this advice for other busy moms out there: “The big thing is fitting in what you can, when you can. I like that I can show people that you can still do this as you age. There are amazing people out there – 80- and 90-year-olds – still hurdling, high jumping and pole vaulting. Part of it is mental. Part of it is definitely physical but if you can keep working your muscles, you can maintain it.”

Besides running, Hayden has maintained her passion for teaching others.

“I really like coaching because it doesn’t matter what your ability is,” she explained. “The most important thing is to give your best, try your hardest and be willing to learn.”

Hayden works as an adult instructor at the Sports Pavilion and at Potomac Green; the assistant cross country coach and volunteer assistant for track and field at Broad Run High School; the youth instructor for middle and high schools for Loudoun County Parks, Recreational and Community Services at Claude Moore Recreation Center; and is the founder and coach for the NOVA A.C. Youth Track & Field Team.