Getting To Know …
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Getting To Know …

Heidi Greene, FCPS employee and marathon runner.

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Heidi Greene, the office assistant at Newington Forest Elementary, competed in the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct.

When Heidi Greene of Springfield crossed the finish line of the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25, she clocked a time of 4 hours 2 minutes and 43 seconds. This was the fifth marathon that the 41-year-old office assistant at Newington Forest has run.

<b>Number of years in the community.

</b>I have been living in Springfield for a year and a half now since my move from Canada. It feels like home to me already.

<b>Family.

</b>Husband Mike with FCPS as well and Baby Cheeba our French Bulldog and Newington Forest has welcomed me into their family as well.

<b>Education.

</b>I completed my travel and tourism degree in Ontario as well as veterinary management.

<b>Your first job.

</b> When I was 14-years old, I got my first job in Fish and Chip shop in St. Catharines Ontario. My boss became one of my best friends and I still communicate with him to this day.

<b>Activities/interest/hobbies.

</b>Running, I love to travel and enjoy photography, boating, golfing and cycling.

<b>Favorite local restaurants.

</b>Mike's American Grill, Delia Pizza and Saratoga Pizza.

<b>Community concerns.

</b>I haven't been involved long enough to voice anything major, but I do hate the traffic lights at Bonnie Mill and the parkway.

<b>When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

</b>I was always the class clown and naturally wanted to be an actress, but the last five or six years my ideal dream job would have to be a travel photographer.

<b>Community "hidden treasure" you think more people should know about.

</b>I finally found the trail behind South Run Rec Center to Burke Lake Trail and boating on Pohick Bay and Mattawoman Creek.

<b>Personal goals.

</b>The plan is to Stay at Newington Forest until I retire and either semi retire and get a rental property back in northern Ontario and spend the winter in the Keys or fully retire and sail off on our boat down the Intracoastal Waterway with Mike and Cheeba to explore tropical islands

<b>How did you get interested in running?

</b>I used to work at White Oaks Fitness & Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake from 1987-91 and hung out with a lot of the members who were runners and they got me hooked on racing. I took a few years off from 2000-03 due to a hectic work schedule, but I couldn't stay away from that "runners' high."

<b>Was this your first marathon?

</b>Actually, it was my fifth. I still can't believe it.

<b>How many have you run and how do you train for them? </b>My first, I went on a bus trip with a group from Toronto and ran it in 3:58. I was so proud to be under 4 hours. Then I did two in Niagara Falls, the Casino International marathon, the Reggae Marathon in Negril, where I met my hubby, n December 2006 and then Marine Corps this year. Mileage, mileage and stubbornness to finish them all.

<b>What did you take away from the experience of running in the Marine Corps Marathon?

</b>That it is possible to get better with age. The three marathons in between I ran in 4:12, 4:20 and 4:32 and came back this year to run a 4:02. Next goal is back under 4 hours and maybe another exotic destination. And it really helps to have your hubby there cheering you on.