DI woman finishes strong in Cooper River Bridge Run!

Daniel Island resident Sara Powell Ashton got over it. The Cooper River Bridge that is – in her recent quest to tackle the annual 10K event that attracts some 40,000 participants to the Charleston area. And not only did she get over it, with a time of 36 minutes and nine seconds, she picked up a few accolades for her performance.

Sara was the first female from the Charleston area (Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties) to cross the finish line in the April 7 event; the second female finisher overall in South Carolina (the first being Esther Atkins, an Olympic trials qualifier); and the 20th finisher overall among all female participants. In addition, her time qualified her to win the prestigious Marcus Newberry Award, which recognizes the top local female and male individual runners in the race.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to represent Daniel Island and put Daniel Island on the map,” said Sara, a full-time student at Trident Technical College who was recently accepted into the school’s 2019 nursing program. “I’ll try my best to keep doing that!”

Sara took part in the race with her husband, Eric, who is also an avid runner and has previously qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials. They are currently training for Sara’s first marathon, so the Cooper River Bridge Run offered the perfect opportunity to add to their preparations.

“Eric had always talked about this race” continued Sara. “And I had only run it once before…He got the state record for his age group this year…that was pretty phenomenal!”

Back in March, Sara was overall winner of the Palmetto Bluff Half Marathon -- the very place where she and Eric spent their honeymoon two years ago.

“Our love story has been around running!” she said. “…It is a luxury to enjoy these races together, something I hold so special!”

Living on Daniel Island is an added perk to training, added Sara, who aims to spend her quiet time running each morning. “It is the best way to start my day, giving thanks for this gift I have been granted,” she said. “Daniel Island is, by far, one of the top three places to run in all of Charleston. The untouched beauty of His creation is just breathtaking -- never gets old.”

Sara’s brother, Andy Powell, is the head coach of the University of Oregon cross country team. He has coached several collegiate runners, along their journey to earn medals in the Olympics.

“I joke, but it is true, that I was in fact his first athlete,” said Sara. “That’s where it all started. He’s really someone I aspire to be like!”

Last weekend, Sara placed first in 10-mile “Daybreak Run” in Columbia and came close to breaking a state record. She will run her first full marathon in the near future.

Daniel Island Publishing

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Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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