Nurse Wins Komen Race for the Cure

Winning the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Oct. 12 was a thrill in more ways than one for Stacey Chaston, a registered nurse at The Methodist Hospital.

Chaston was the first-place finisher in the 5K (3.11 miles) event which raises money for breast cancer research and education, with a time of 17 minutes, 37 seconds. It was only her third race after taking time off for the birth of her second child.

“It’s exciting because this race is for such a good cause,” she says. “Being in the medical profession, I know how important it is to help educate people about breast cancer. Also, my mother is a breast cancer survivor.”

Chaston is a top runner in the Houston area. She was the top women’s overall finisher in the most recent Terry Fox 5K run, finishing that race in 18 minutes flat.

A graduate of Kingwood High School and Texas A&M University, Chaston has won a number of state-level running events.

She attempted to qualify for the 1996 U. S. Olympic running team, but she missed the cut by 20 seconds.

“I don’t really run that many full-length marathons, which are 26.2 miles ... it’s just too hard on the body,” Chaston says.

She prefers to train for and run in short, fast races. She runs about 40 hours a week and is a member of the Houston Harriers running club.

After taking nearly three years off from serious running, Chaston says she wants to train for more races as she juggles work and family. One solution is to load the kids (3-year-old Thomas and 17-month-old Emily) into baby joggers, she says. Stacey and her husband Justin Chaston – a two-time Olympian who competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase – will occasionally take a trip to do some running.

“We’ve gone to places like Colorado, and taken the kids running,” she says. “We’re real ‘outdoors-y’ people.”

Right now, Chaston is planning to run a five-mile race Thanksgiving Day and will eventually begin training for another marathon.

“It’s just a matter of putting in the necessary number of miles to train for a marathon,” she says. “But I’ll do it ... it’ll be fun.”

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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