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About Us
Sarah Kirke is a HR consultant and runner in Orchard Park, NY, about to embark on her first Boston Marathon! We couldn’t be more excited to cheer her on and watch her rock her FITS running socks all the way to the finish line.
Here’s a little more about Sarah and her running story.
Tell us a little about your history and experience as a runner:
I’m not traditionally the normal “runner.” I grew up playing sports and soccer was my sport of choice, but I never did cross country, track and field or anything along those lines in high school or college. I went to Wake Forest and they had a phenomenal soccer program and I thought about playing club soccer, then I got my noes in the books, joined a sorority and found life outside of the sports — but I found myself really missing that component of training. I fell into running my junior year of college and enjoyed the peacefulness of getting out there, clearing my mind and doing it by myself, as opposed to being on a team sport.
I ran a couple of marathons in my 20s, but not in the healthiest of ways. I didn’t treat my body very well and just wasn’t smart about training. Then I took a substantial amount of time away from running. I got married and had two babies (now five and three), and for those five years of pregnancy and nursing, my body was dedicated to having the babies and being a mom. It was my choice to step away from running, but that also made me step away from a piece of myself. Once I was done nursing my son after about a year postpartum, I laced up the shoes again. I really wanted to do something for me and have that time for myself. And man, that was so hard to do. Everything hurt. It was humbling and just very challenging mentally, physically and emotionally, but something inside of me came back. I felt like a kid again, playing soccer and just running around with that abandon. So, I slowly and steadily in a very smart and healthy and balanced way — now being in my early 30s at that point — was able to really do it in a way that made sense. I honestly never thought it would come back to me in any sort of overwhelmingly spiritually way, but I just fell passionately in love with just going out and running.
I decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon in 2017 and training for that marathon lit a fire in me. The miles were clicking away, I was getting faster and treating my body in a way that really respected it. Having my kids see me do something I really, really loved made me a better mom. I made a quiet goal that I wanted to qualify for Boston…and I did. I went to Chicago and I ran a really smart race and I qualified with over five minutes under the qualifying standard. Then I ran the Buffalo Marathon in May of 2018 and further bettered my time for Boston, and then I ran Chicago again in October of 2018 and set my PR again of 3:23. I’ve run the three post partum marathons and I’m three for three with the BQ (Boston qualifying). It’s hard to fathom a time when running wasn’t a part of my life in the way it is now.
What are your goals for Boston?
I want to have fun. I want to soak it all in. It is a historic, amazing, oldest annual marathon in the world, and I worked my tush off to be able to get there and I just want to be able to enjoy it. I don’t have any expectations to PR (personal record). There’s no pressure. To me, it’s a celebration of the work I’ve already put in. I cannot wait for the excitement of the entire weekend. I’m turning 37 on April 12th, so it’s going to be an extended weekend with my husband and just an absolute blast.
How has training gone so far?
My training cycle was a little abbreviated. I typically do a 16-18 week training cycle and this time I did a 12-week. I run my miles outside and in Buffalo, it’s brutal. But I love being outside. I love just having the ability to breathe the fresh air, to lace up and go. I don’t have a treadmill and I don’t belong to a gym, so the majority of my miles are outside and the winter has been brutal. But it gives me that determination and drive to grind it out and get to the start line.
As a runner, how important is it for you to have the "right" gear?
It’s extremely important — from feet all the way to my head. With all the trial and error of different clothing and shoes, you find what works for you. It’s so unique to each runner, but once you find it, it’s hard to gravitate away from that. It’s what make me feel strong and powerful.
Do you have any race superstitions or rituals that you follow?
I’m a creature of habit. I eat the same thing, but I feel like if you ask any runner they’ll tell you they eat the same thing. My favorite number is eight, so every time I get a bib number, I try to get it to add up or multiple or subtract to equal to eight. For Boston, I got the actual numbers of the bib to equal eight (13894), plus I’m wave two corral six.
What does running the Boston Marathon mean to you?
It’s really hard to put into words, and I know I’m going to get incredibly choked up as I cross that finish line. The marathon is such a fickle beast and, honestly, training for this distance humbles me every step that I take. I get chills when I think about it. I love showing my kids and my husband that Mom can set mini goals along the way – I always talk about manageable pieces – and when you string together consistent manageable pieces, you can have amazing outcomes. It’s never going to be perfect, but that’s what makes it amazing and interesting and complex and multidimensional. And that’s what the marathon is to me. I love the training aspect of it. I love the grind and just being able to be a part of such a historic event like the Boston Marathon. It’s an absolute dream come true, honestly. I just can’t wait to celebrate all of the hard work that I have put in and have my family proud of me. Without my support system, I couldn’t have done any of this. I’m not a team of one and I owe so much of what I do day in and day out to that support system.
Good luck, Sarah! We’ll be cheering you on from afar.
Your sock size shouldn’t be a guessing game. Our socks range from small to double XL, but the best way to know the perfect fit for you is to match your shoe size to the chart on the left. That way, you’ll know the size you select will give you the fit and feel you expect.
Between sizes? Go with your gut, but rest assured that your socks will still fit great. If you receive your order and find yourself wishing you’d gone up or down a size, just let us know. We’ll happily send you replacements for your preferred size.
Concerned about laundry mix-ups? All FITS® socks are coordinated by color and size, based on the colors you see on the size chart. So, you won’t have to worry about mixing up your sizes with the other FITS® wearers in your home. (But stray socks mysteriously going missing in the dryer? Unfortunately, we can’t help with that.)
Sock sizes are typically measured in inches, not by your shoe size. So, a sock size 6-8 will comfortably fit someone whose feet are between six and eight inches long. However, at FITS®, we make it easy for you to choose the ideal sock size without having to measure your foot. Simply use our sock size conversion chart based on your shoe size to select the right fit for you.
To measure your foot for socks, measure the length from the heel of your foot to the tip of your longest toe. The measurement in inches correlates to your sock size. For example, if your foot is 10 inches long, a sock size 9-11 should fit you comfortably. At FITS®, you can skip this step and find your sock size based on your shoe size using our conversion chart.
The sock size conversion refers to sock size compared to shoe size. While all companies may vary slightly on which size socks to purchase based on your shoe size, you can always measure your foot to find the right fit for you.
Because sock sizes are determined by the length of your foot in inches vs. your shoe size, shoe and sock sizes differ. The FITS® sock size to shoe size conversion is as follows:
Knowing this makes it easy to choose the ideal sock size based on your shoe size without measuring your foot.
Sock sizes typically don’t correlate with age. For kids, age can be a general indicator of what size sock they’ll need, but everyone is different. An adult sock size 9-12 fits anyone whose feet are approximately nine to twelve inches long. For kids’ sock sizing, check with the company to find exact details to ensure your little one gets the perfect fit.
Got more questions about finding the perfect sock size for you? Let’s talk.