Kim Stanley and Colin Hall
Wouldn’t it feel great to have a six-mile run under your belt during your lunch hour? Maybe a dream for some, but reality for Colin Hall and Kim Stanley, coworkers who train for marathons during breaks at USPS International Service Center in New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
Hall and Stanley ran in the November’s New York City Marathon—all 26.2 miles of it. They were motivated to complete the rigorous event after a coworker challenged them to participate.
Hall works as a mail handler with the International Surface Airlift. Stanley is a first-class foreign parcel euro sorter dispatcher clerk. Both are 28 year postal veterans and started running casually four years ago, logging miles with coworkers and in running clubs.
Stanley grinds out six-mile runs each lunch hour. She leaves the weekends for longer runs of 10 miles or more. The scenery of New York City keeps Stanley going. “You just run at your own pace enjoying the sights,” she says.
Stanley attributes her success to staying motivated and intent on reaching her exercise and diet goals. And she takes her training seriously.
“I’m not a happy runner,” Stanley jokes, referring to her unsmiling face and focused demeanor while racing. The determination paid off: She cut 20 minutes from her best time, clocking in at 4 hours 39 minutes.
Hall trains with Stanley during the week and has learned the value of perseverance. “Finishing the race and not stopping was my only option,” he said. He completed this year’s marathon in 4 hours 54 minutes.
For Hall, the lessons he’s been taught through running can be applied to life. “Everybody’s capable of doing incredible things,” he says. “If your thought is ‘I can’ then you will.”
Authors: Elvenia E. J. Stafford and Denise Varano