Sara Ensrud Vaughn: The Student-Athlete Wonder Woman

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Sara Vaughn had plenty of reasons to quit.

A standout runner for the University of Colorado, she first discovered she was pregnant in 2006 at the end of her sophomore season. As her news spread, pressure built to have an abortion – a common expectation for female student-athletes. Without a school or NCAA policy in place at the time to guide her, she risked losing her scholarship because of her decision to parent her child with her boyfriend turned husband, Brent. On September 23, 2006, she gave birth to a baby girl, Ciara Grace.

Sara embraced her role as a parent while staying focused on her course work. Just one year after giving birth, Sara earned Academic All-American status. One of the first from her family to graduate college, she completed her degree with a 3.9 GPA. On the track, Sara poured her heart out while transforming her body and mind back into Division I shape. Months after giving birth, she lowered her fastest 1500 meter time by 15 seconds and broke the school record in the mile. She finished her collegiate career as a Cross Country All-American and earned All-Big 12 and All-Region honors on the track.

Listen in as my co-host, Ann Gaffigan, and I talk to Sara about what it was like to stand tall in her running shoes as a pregnant student-athlete. Not only does Sara shed light on overcoming negative feedback during her NCAA days, she also opens up about being pregnant while trying to balance her career as a professional runner. Her second child, Calia Evelyn, was born on June 26, 2010.

Get inspired by following Sara on twitter @MomVaughn and through her blog at RunnerTimes.com. “My family is my base, my launching pad. The bigger, more robust, more love-filled my launching pad, the higher I can fly.” - Sara Vaughn

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