In It For the Long Run

Running the Boston Marathon is something many athletes aspire to accomplish. For Sarah “Iz” Davis, a school counselor and coach at Shadow Ridge High School, that goal became a reality last Spring. Davis grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, which is where she began her running journey. She had never ran before, and knew nothing about the sport, but was inspired by some family members who ran, and decided to join her high school’s Track and Field and Cross Country teams in the 9th grade.

While running for her high school, Iz formed a strong bond with her coach at the time, who easily became a great inspiration for her. “She was a role model for me. She was very knowledgeable and confident and compassionate, and I just wanted to be like her,” said Davis. “She instilled many positive values in me and just a love for running,’’ she added.

Since the beginning, her running journey has taken her a long way and has changed a lot over the years. After high school, Davis was recruited to run Division I for the University of Florida, where she focused more on shorter distances. While in college, she started thinking about what she wanted to do career wise, and came to realize how much of an impact her high school coach had on her. Many of the lessons she learned from her high school coach, she carried with her into college and beyond. The way her coach was able to be personable and compassionate with her athletes, while also motivating them to continue improving, is what was most impactful and what made her a great coach. This ultimately inspired Davis to want to do the same thing for others. “I want to do what she did for me,” says Davis. “I want to be able to do that for other high school girls.” Uncertain about what her running career would look like after college, she knew for certain that she would find passion in being a coach.

Fast forward several years, after finishing college and gaining her masters degree, Davis decided to move to Arizona, where she saw her vision of coaching become a reality. When she had the opportunity to join Shadow Ridge High School, she couldn’t pass it up. “It was a blessing,” said Davis. “To be a part of a school with some big names in cross country and track already, it was great to see everything fall into place.” At the high school, Davis is a School Counselor, as well as the Head Girls Track and Field Coach and Assistant Girls Cross Country Coach. “I love counseling. That is something I’ll always enjoy doing, and I love my students. But coaching is really where I feel most passionate,” said Davis.

Well into her career as a school counselor and coach, Davis still makes it a priority to continue meeting her personal running goals. Over the course of the last several years, she has transitioned from shorter distance runs, to triathlons, to recently transitioning to longer distance runs. “I never in a million years thought I would be a marathon runner… I was too injured,” said Davis with a laugh. “My coach in college told me I would never be a long distance runner, just because of my genetic makeup and body type. I was built more for shorter distances in running,” she said. However, she decided to defy the odds and try running her first marathon.

In the Fall of 2021, Davis ran in the Los Angeles Marathon. She ended up finishing with a time of 3 hours and 25 minutes. Just 5 minutes under the Boston Marathon qualifying time for her age group of 3 hours and 30 minutes. When speaking of her time Davis says, “I was shocked, to be honest. Los Angeles was my first marathon I’ve ever run.” During this time, Davis was also struggling with some stressful situations in her personal life that affected her training. Add this to the fact that Los Angeles was a fairly difficult and hilly course, she did not expect to finish with this time. “I approached L.A. with the mentality of just wanting to finish it and say that I did it. I ended up having a really good race. I can’t believe I ran under 3:30,” said Davis.

Iz Davis poses with her high school coach, Mary Terry in her senior year of high school in Jacksonville, Florida.

Just a week after the L.A. Marathon was the last week to submit qualifications to run the Boston Marathon. In order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, athletes have to run a certain qualifying time that is determined by their age group. These times also have to be met on an official course that is certified by USA Track & Field or applicable governing bodies for distancerunning. Since the L.A. Marathon counted as a qualifier, Davis decided not to pass up the opportunity. “When I realized that I qualified for Boston, I was like, well, I have to do it. I can’t not do it,” said Davis. So she submitted her application and a couple short months later found out she was accepted. “It was such a whirlwind, all the pieces fell into place at the right time,” said Davis. Navigating a race season however, is rarely an easy feat. There is a lot that goes into preparations for a big race, and it typically takes a lot of time and dedication. “Being able to balance coaching two sports, my counseling job, getting my training in… it’s a little bit tough,” Davis reflects. With the Boston Marathon taking place in April, falling right in the middle of the high school track season, there was even less time to get her weekly training sessions in. “Track season is crazy with two meets a week and practice everyday right after school. It was a lot at that time,” said Davis. On top of it all, just a few weeks before the big race, she found out she would be needing bunion surgery on her right foot.

Thankfully, an immediate surgery was not necessary and she was able to schedule it for after the race. Davis admitted the news was a bit of asetback, however was thankful it wouldn’t impede her ability to run the race. “I just needed to push through and get through this race and worry about the surgery later.”

When it came time for Boston, Davis was ready and determined to have a great race. She was in much better shape than she was in Los Angeles, and had a better mindset going into the race. “Boston is like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Davis exclaimed. “It’s insanely energetic. People everywhere. From the start line to the finish line, the entire course is lined with spectators.” The race is run on a two lane road, so when there are thousands of runners and spectators lining the sides, the race starts out fairly hectic and it’s easy to get caught up in all the energy. In the early stages of the race, as Davis was trying to find her rhythm, she saw some kids cheering on the sides asking for high-fives. Naturally, caught up in the spirit and energy of the moment, she had to go over.

After giving the kids high-fives, as she was trying to get back into the course, her foot hit a pothole and her ankle slipped under her as she fell to the ground. She feared that she had injured herself and wouldn’t be able to finish the race, however she immediately got back up and brushed it off. She was surprised by the fact she didn’t feel any pain in her ankle so she just kept going. It wasn’t until after the race that she noticed blood running down her leg, laughing at the fact that she ran the entire course without even noticing. “Thankfully it didn’t cost me my race,” said Davis. “It reminded me to stay focused especially at the chaos at the beginning of the race.”

Aside from this, Davis had a near perfect race. She ended up finishing the race with a time of 3 hours and 3 minutes; 22 minutes faster than the time she ran in Los Angeles. “I rarely have a perfect race where everything lines up,” she said. “I felt great, the race was executed how it should be. I can maybe count on one hand all the races I’ve run that have just been perfect, and that was one of those races where everything just worked out.”

Iz Davis poses with her student runners at a cross country meet for Shadow Ridge High School in 2021.

She credits a lot of her success to the support she received from family, friends, and her Shadow Ridge community back home. “They’re all so supportive and encouraging and understanding of what I do,” she said. “It’s really awesome to be able to be a part of a community at Dysart and Shadow Ridge that are very supportive. I’m so appreciative of that because I know you can’t find that everywhere,” she added.

While in Boston, she received tons of emails from coworkers, teachers, and students at the school cheering her on and wishing her good luck. During the race, teachers were also displaying her race tracker in their classrooms, showing where she was at in the race. “That was so cool. It made me feel so supported and it also helps educate our kids on what a marathon is,” said Davis.

After running in Boston, Davis went through with the surgery on her foot, which set her training back a bit. After rehabbing, she hopes to build back up and looks forward to more races down the road, adding, “The goal is to hopefully be able to run the New York City Marathon next November.”

“Running has taught me so much,” said Davis. “I look back on my experience in high school and then transitioning to a Division I college. So much of what I’ve learned and the person I’ve become has been because of running.” At the end of the day, she hopes her athletes can learn and grow from these same lessons. The medals, state championships, and personal records are all great, but at the end of the day, these aren’t the things you are going to remember most.

“You’re going to remember the people you were with, what you learned, what you were taught, and how you can apply that to your life non athletically,” said Davis. “I want them to be confident, I want them to be able to overcome challenges, I want them to be able to work through injuries and realize it’s going to make them a better person and a better athlete. Those are the things I want them to experience and learn and grow from because I think that’s the most important part about being an athlete.”