63-year-old Utahn in the running for magazine cover contest


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HIGHLAND — Utahn Shirlee Webb, 63, knows how hard it is to take the first step to get healthy and fit, but now she’s in the running to be featured on the cover of Runner’s World magazine.

Webb loves to get outside and run anyplace and in all weather.

“It’s been my sanity, I would say,” Shirlee said.

She never thought she would enjoy running when a friend asked her to go jogging 30 years ago.

“At that time I weighed 235 pounds, I just had my fifth baby in seven years,” Webb said. “I laughed. I said, ‘Are you kidding? You really want me to go running?’"

But Shirlee did start running. She started slowly, but something in her changed with her efforts, and her husband noticed right away.

“Now, you don’t want to make me cry, but I will tell you that she’s a very inspirational woman,” Tom Webb said.

After Shirlee had her first child, she became severely depressed.

“I was hospitalized for three months, and I even went through shock treatments,” Shirlee said.

But she worked her way through it. And when she discovered running, she left depression in the dust.

“I found that running … took away those feeling,” she said. “I just fell in love with it. I’ve never looked back since then.”

Utahn Shirlee Webb, 63, is in the running for a contest to get on the cover of Runner's World magazine as an inspirational runner.
Utahn Shirlee Webb, 63, is in the running for a contest to get on the cover of Runner's World magazine as an inspirational runner. (Photo: Alex Cabrero/KSL TV)

Shirlee has even qualified for the Boston Marathon three times since turning 60.

Now she is sharing her story. Her family has entered her into a contest to be on the cover of Runner’s World, which will feature a runner with an inspirational story.

“This whole contest, people have been rallying behind her, showing support. And I think it’s really been a big boost to her,” said Shirlee’s son, Chris Webb.

Tom said the support has been “marvelous,” and she has over 1,800 votes.

Shirlee would like to win — almost as much as she likes passing younger runners during her marathons. But to her, the possible magazine cover isn't the most important part of her running. It's that feeling she gets when she runs, that no matter what life difficulties come her way, she can overcome them. One step at a time.

To read more about Shirlee and to vote for her, visit Runner's World

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Alex Cabrero

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