Sarah Wishnietsky - A Military Brat on the Run

Sarah Wishnietsky was born of Air Force parents at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi.  Sarah’s mother retained her maiden name when she married so Sarah and her younger sister, Rebecca, were both given their mother’s last name.  Their mother hopes that one day the Wishnietsky name will continue down to her future grandchildren.   

Sarah and StevenTypical of military parents, Sarah left Mississippi after the first month of her life relocating to respectively to Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Arizona, and Alabama.  Sarah was “shy” and required some time to forge friendships, so her sister was her only long term friend during childhood.  When she did form friendships, her parents would move.  Sarah’s nomadic life ended when her mother retired as a Lt. Colonel in Montgomery, Alabama.  Sarah attended High School at Montgomery Academy where she played varsity softball, sang in the school choir, acted in school plays and was on the competitive math team.  Sarah excelled in foreign language study and spent time in France in a student exchange program between her sophomore and junior years.

After graduation Sarah attended and graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). While Sarah played the piano in high school as a hobby, she was relegated to the xylophone and vibraphone in the front ensemble of the university marching band.  Sarah graduated in 2007 with a double major in Math and Biology and a minor in Chemistry.  While at UAB Sarah went on medical mission trips to Belize and Ecuador.  She also availed herself to ecology courses in Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands.  This early entry into the world of travel led Sarah to visit to date more than forty states and fifteen foreign countries.    

Graduation led to a diagnosis of severe scoliosis.  Her vertebra was fused with her entire spinal column with metal rods inserted on both sides of the spine.  During an extended recovery, Sarah discontinued her hobbies and activities she had developed in college.  Her muscles grew weak from disuse so she attended cardio classes to recover her muscle tone.  Lifting weights did not appeal to Sarah but running did.  Sarah ran casually for a few years before discovering that Georgia had multiple running series.

Sarah and CherylIn January 2012 Sarah found the Black Bag Race Series/Clover Glove Series race, the Jaycees January Jog.  She learned about the series and began to look for races that awarded points for participating.  The more races she attended, the more fun she had.  What she really loved was that “she saw familiar faces at each race”.  After almost a year, she feels like some of the friends she has made on the race series are “some of the closest friends she has ever had”.   They “encourage each other, sympathize, and offer to help when someone is going through difficulties”.  Cheryl Cook, in particular, has become a good friend and is attending the Dopey Challenge with Sarah at Walt Disney World in January.  Her favorite races are the Bainbridge Half marathon and the Twelve Days of Christmas in July.   

Bob checking out from the back of the pack.  Look for the profile on 2013 Black Bag Race Series Champion, Lauren Freeman and on 4-H’s Jocelyn Davis.