FAMU civil engineering Ph.D. student Shannon Anderson is
part of a running group in Tallahassee that encourages women, in particular
black women, to get-up-and-get-running, called Black Girls Run.
"We train together several times a week and sign-up for
different runs near-by or around the state," said Shannon. "The Divas
Half Marathon (13 miles) in St. Augustine, FL over the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend was the first time I ran a half marathon."
The Divas Half Marathon series celebrates women and was a
fun first long race for Shannon. She came in 59th in her age group, finishing
at 2:31:53.
"Everyone who crossed the finish line got one of those
big medals," remarked Shannon. "My next half (marathon) will probably
be the Tallahassee Half in February. The goal by this time next year is to
finish a full marathon. I will need a COE tee shirt for that!"
Shannon is planning on getting some of the other girls at
the College of Engineering to come running with her and the group as well.