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 By Dr. Cathy Utzschneider
This is the second of two articles on three-time Olympian miler Suzy Favor Hamilton.
Depressed…is how Suzy felt, after finishing 5th instead of 1st at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Today, nine years later, she’s the happiest she’s ever been.
This article tells how she overcame her struggles following the Olympics by incorporating them into her life and ventures today. What she’s doing today in running may surprise you.
Photos Courtesy of Suzy Favor Hamilton.
Post-Sydney Struggles
Depression and anxiety clouded Favor-Hamilton’s life for several years after Sydney.
Performance in running had been the focus of her whole life until the Olympics of 2000. For five years she had been ranked the number one runner in the U.S. She had always felt the pressure to be perfect.
Following the 5th place finish at Sydney, she said, “I had no self-esteem...I wasn’t No.1 in the world. I didn’t have a gold medal.”
She felt anxious and lacked self-confidence despite her devoted husband, Mark, the birth in 2005 of her daughter, Kylie, and a lucrative job selling advertising for the University of Wisconsin. A move to a new house intensified her anxiety.
“It got to the point when I was driving home after work and thought how easy it would be to just drive off the road…I had this fear that I wasn’t super woman.”
The next day, with her husband’s urging, she sought counseling.
“It got harder before it got better,” she said. “I saw a psychologist about once a week, sometimes twice a week.”
Even running was hard. “I have a beautiful treadmill. It can do a 4 minute mile. I could not get myself on it,” she said. “I would go to the basement and curl up on the floor next to the treadmill and cry. I am an Olympic runner and I couldn’t do the one thing I love in my life. How many people suffer from depression and can’t get into exercise?”
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Healing by Helping Others
She changed her attitude about life, realizing that many others also suffer from depression and anxiety and understanding that she could help them. She currently manages her depression with medication and strategies she learned from eight months of therapy.
 “I realized I could help others. I am not the only one who has suffered from depression, anorexia, and anxiety,” she said.
“I also forgave myself for not being perfect. I didn’t need a running medal to define my life.” She decided to earn her real estate license and, with her husband, started an agency - Favor Hamilton Realty.
“I love meeting people and understanding their passions and needs,” she said. Real estate sales are strong.
She has healed herself, she said, by sharing her experience with others, learning that others will gain from it.
She wrote a book, Fast Track, she is a frequent public speaker, and she started the Suzy Favor Hamilton Running Club in March. “Writing, speaking, and the club have been great healing for me,” she said.
At one talk for east coast track and cross country coaches, she urged them to take pressure off athletes. “I urged coaches not to pressure athletes to be perfectionists,” she said. “Most kids will leave the sport because there is too much pressure.
High school sports have become such a job for kids. Parents take it to the extreme. Why can’t the kid be the third fastest 400 meter runner in their school? Why does a kid have to be No.1 to be a success?”
In March she started her running club to help women build their self-esteem and a sense of community. She already has 350 members. (Twenty percent are walkers, including speed walkers, 20% are joggers, and 60% are runners.)
“We want to do something for the community, help women feel good about themselves, connect with other women, and encourage them to love their own bodies and be good to themselves,” said Hamilton. “Size doesn’t matter. Come – you may have had a bad day. You always leave feeling 100 times better.
“If you’re looking to train for a marathon or win masters – or to be the next masters champion, my club is not for you,” Favor Hamilton asserts. “But if you’re a woman who has never run or a woman who has some depression, or maybe you just want to have some girlfriends because you’re new in town, you should join us.
“We do a loop where I can see everyone so I can critique them. I am always jumping, yelling, high fiving. We’re very high motivation. The first day they come they get a hug from me so nobody is standing by themselves not knowing what to do. I don’t believe in wasting time to get to know others.”
Top of Page Suzy: A Masters Runner?
At 41, Suzy is a masters runner. “I think it’s great that there’s masters running,” said Favor Hamilton. Seen her name in National Masters News results?
No.
Why?
She’s not running fast. For one thing, she can’t. An Achilles strain keeps her running moderately – at about an eight minute mile pace. “I was a toe runner. I can’t do the speed anymore like I used to…now I hit the middle of my foot. I take littler steps and I don’t bring my knees up high.”
More to the point, she doesn’t care about running fast now. “The whole idea of trying to run fast is not why I run,” said Hamilton. “The friendships are more important than running,” said Hamilton. “Now I can finish a race and be the 600th runner.
“I also never wear a watch,” she said. “Now I am not running to please sponsors or to be the No.1 U.S. runner. Now I look at each step I get to take as a gift. I run because I love to run. I want to be able to run until I am 90 years old.”
A Balanced Life
Today, as opposed to years ago, Favor Hamilton enjoys a balanced life that includes her family, real estate sales, her running club – and yes, something new: speed skating. She tried it last year and joined a club. This year, she said, her daughter Kylie wants to learn.
“This year I am going to play with her on the ice. I use it for Mommy and Me time. She skates to the cones and gets a treat. She’s the only little girl in the club!”
Today Favor Hamilton enjoys variety and sums up her perspective on life this way: “You cannot be in a good place in your life until you can give.”
Cathy Utzschneider Ed.D. (human movement), M.B.A., professor of goal setting and competitive performance, Boston College; coach, Liberty Athletic Club, MOVE and Women-Running-Together.com. Like to comment on the Suzy Favor Hamilton story? Post it here.
Top of Page Read Part 1 of Cathy's interview with Suzy Favor Hamilton.
Return from Suzy Favor Hamilton to Running Stories
This article was originally printed in National Masters News.
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