Helena Swank

I feel like we should exercise and eat well to be the best version of ourselves. This makes us feel beautiful, healthy and powerful. Health and fitness is also the key to a long active life that allows us to fulfill all of our goals and dreams. I want to be able to experience all that life has to offer! I have been focused on health and wellness since my 20s but after my diagnosis I have embraced it even more as a way to be in control of my body and my future.

I weight train, run, practice yoga, and swim. They all have benefits and I enjoy them in different ways. Running lets me tune out and my mind becomes quiet as I focus on nothing but the running. Yoga is relaxing and stretches body and mind. Weight training makes you feel strong! And women need to feel strong and powerful. Swimming is my favorite though because it not only trains the body but also relaxes it. It helps to ease pain and expand how much fitness you can do on a daily basis.

I did not really enter for the money. This felt like part of a journey for me. I think many people think they cannot stay fit or cannot return to it after setbacks. I have had setbacks and several surgeries now in the last 7 years. I want people especially women over 50 to know they can do anything they set their mind to! The money will go toward savings for my daughter. She is 13 and the light of my life.