What started out as a stress reliever soon turned into a full time hobby for Assistant Principal Melissa Thomas. The Rock-and-Roll half marathon was not the first or last marathon that Thomas will be participating in.

“There was a lot of stress when I first became an assistant principle which is essentially how I started running,” said Thomas. “Once I started running and realized I liked it, I wanted to see if I could run a 5k. When I found out I could, I just kept running and doing it on a regular basis and now I love it.”

Thomas has competed in two half marathons, one in Raleigh, NC and one in Savannah, Georgia. Even though they were the same event, the different locations provided many differences.

“The weather was cold for both of them, but Savannah was a different kind of cold,” said Thomas. “Savannah is fairly flat so there were only a few hills while Raleigh is very hilly. What’s cool is that when you go through some of the historic parts in Savannah, all the people come out and cheer for everybody along the whole course. Savannah also had a band at every mile where as Raleigh did not have as many.”

Although the location was more interesting in Savannah, Raleigh was more personal.

“One of the cool things about Raleigh is that when I went to pick up my things, it was actually Wakefield kids volunteering,” said Thomas. “Raleigh students were all along the course so I got water from several Raleigh students. When I finished, a student actually gave me my medal.”

One thing many people may not know about Thomas is that she has a son deployed in Afghanistan. The Rock-and-Roll half marathon in Raleigh has a military group called “Run for the fallen, Run for the Fighting, Run for the Families.” Being able to see that along the course motivated Thomas even more.

“They have shirts that say ‘Run for the Blue’ for anybody who has gone over and not made it back or for those what are still there, like my son, and their families,” said Thomas. “At mile eleven they had a big group there with pictures of men and women who have fallen over there. There was also family members there standing with 41 flags.”

Thomas often finds herself explaining to people what goes on in her head while running thirteen miles.

“You either think about what’s going on or you don’t think about anything,” said Thomas. “I just relax and that’s sometimes the best part about it, being able to get away from stuff. I also have my music to listen to. I’ve become addicted.”

Now that Thomas is addicted, it is hard for her to function without running. Two years ago, Thomas got injured while on an eleven-mile run and ended up having to get surgery, she was not able to run for several months after surgery.

“When I got hurt and ended up in the boot it was hard because I couldn’t run and I missed it,” said Thomas. “I couldn’t run from August to February and it took about six months until I could run a marathon again. It was hard to get back into it but once I did it was okay.”

Being a runner is a yearlong commitment; runners have to always watch what they eat and keep up on their stamina. Thomas typically runs four miles three to four times a week depending on how busy her schedule is. However, when it is time to train things start to change.

“I’ll look at however many weeks the event is and I will go on a long run each week and add to it each week until about two weeks before when I have to back off,” said Thomas. “I always have to watch what I eat, especially the week before the event.”

Even though Thomas used to swear she would never become a runner, she is glad running has become such an active hobby in her life.

“I enjoy it and want to stay healthy,” said Thomas. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized it’s good for my muscles, bones, heart, and it’s good for my mind to be able to stay active. I don’t want to be that old person that doesn’t do anything. If you think you can’t run you can, it’s a mind thing. You can do anything you set your mind to, you just have to do it.”