Can You Believe Anyone Can Change So Dramatically, So Quickly?

In May of 2007 a 274-pound Susan "SuSu" Jennings, 46 at the time, started yet another weight-loss program. This August, 135 pounds lighter, Susan, now closing in on the big 5-0, ran the equivalent of 15 marathons in 15 days. In just over three years, this very busy home-schooling mom had miraculously transformed herself into an ultra-distance runner who could run 400 miles (Winchester, Virginia to Washington, D.C. to Richmond to Charlottesville to Lynchburg, Virginia) in just over two weeks.

This, however, was not merely an attempt at self-improvement. Susan took on this monumental challenge to promote the Teens Opposing Poverty (TOP) program and to let others who are going through tough times, as she did with her weight struggles, know that with God all things are possible. To do this, along her bunion-busting journey, she stopped at churches to speak about how she lost nearly half her weight, how she became an utlra-marathon runner (in her very first year of running, she ran 7 ultra-distance races -- races longer than a 26.2-mile marathon) and to ask for support for the TOP program.

Susan "Su Su" Jennings ran this marathon of marathons, August 13 -- August 31, during one of the hottest Virginia summers on record. Despite the heat, the daily pounding on her feet and the extreme nature of this undertaking, she suffered no ill effects, including not a single blister. And, all this running obviously didn't sour her on running long distances, because in October, just over a month removed from her summer run, she ran yet another 26.2-miler -- the Freedom's Run Marathon in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

Susan has taken herself from struggling to be able to walk a couple of miles, from deteriorating health due to the excess weight, and, after losing the first 75 pounds, just being able to run a few steps at a time a couple of years ago, to being an exemplary model of what is possible by running 50-, 62- and 100-mile races AND 15 marathons in 15 days! She hopes her running will inspire you to overcome your challenges, whatever they might be, and be a catalyst to your becoming the person you can be.

To learn more about Virginia's Susan "SuSu" Jennings and how she completely transformed herself in such a short time, visit her very detailed blog: http://www.SuSuTopChallenge.com/

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