by Rachel Tallant
Mornings on HAC’s fitness floor are rarely quiet, especially in The Garage. Between warm up stretches, rowing intervals, and many, many circuit stations, Lizzy and Jessica had spent countless workouts alongside each other in Jen Besten’s Strength Training for Runners SGPT class. The two were acquaintances at first, but one small interaction would lead them to form a deeper bond than they expected.
At the end of Jen Besten’s class one day, Lizzy built up the courage to walk up to Jessica and start a conversation. “You know, you’re the reason I started training for HYROX,” she said, complimenting her physique. Jessica thanked Lizzy, and they both went their separate ways.
The remark stuck with Jessica, though. “That was so nice,” she remembers thinking to herself in the car later on. She was having a really hard day, and Lizzy’s comment made her feel better. So, she decided to send Lizzy a message on Instagram and recommend her best training tips.
After only knowing of each other from Jen’s class, Lizzy and Jessica started to develop a friendship, all the while having no idea that both women had just experienced some of the toughest chapters of their lives. For a while, they trained beside each other, never knowing the extent of the other’s health battles over the past year.
In August 2025, Jessica woke up one morning knowing something was wrong. She was showing signs of a stroke. Immediately concerned about her symptoms, she went to the hospital. Testing revealed that she had had two strokes, and two parts of her brain were dead. Luckily, she did not lose any coordination or motor function, which meant she was able to leave the hospital within five days and return to work one day after that. Another two weeks later, she started running and training for her half marathon again. “I could have used this as an excuse, but I didn’t.” Jessica knew what it meant to be resilient after losing 80 pounds in 2023. She was regimented in her fitness journey and not ready to give up that part of her life.
“Being an endurance athlete, your body failed you with a major medical event, so trusting your body again is the hardest part.” Jessica often asked herself, “Can I even do this?” She was learning to navigate pushing through while also listening to her body.
Meanwhile, Lizzy started 2025 off in the hospital. She had double pneumonia, and it was her 10th time receiving this diagnosis in her lifetime. 2025 was also the second time she experienced sepsis. “It was scary,” she remembers. Lizzy has an IgG immunodeficiency in her blood, meaning her body produces fewer antibodies to fight off infections such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and strep throat. Because of this deficiency, she has needed to get blood transfusions every two weeks for the past year. At the start of treatment, one of her IgG blood cell counts was 89 and should be in the 600-1600 mg/dL range. Today, she is in the 1300 range and hopes to stop the blood transfusions soon.
“I used to be very anxious, but since working out, I’ve been a lot more relaxed,” Lizzy shares. She’s been repeatedly inspired by the people she’s met while at the gym and attending fitness events, including Jessica and Jen, both of whom show up every day despite their health battles. “It’s kept my family together; it’s kept my social battery going,” says Lizzy.
“Incorporating fitness and doing things that are scary despite what’s happening… has been the thing that’s saved me the last year,” says Jessica. Lizzy agrees. Both have been training at least 5 days a week, if not more, since the start of 2026.
While managing major health challenges, the two women have adapted their workout routines. “Before I would push through; now I must be very careful,” says Jessica. Ahead of a workout, she checks her heart rate and blood pressure and considers how well she slept the night before, her balance, and how her body feels at the moment. There are a lot of things to assess before just hitting the gym.
After putting in all the hard work, Lizzy and Jessica have beaten the odds in the world of fitness racing. Sixty days after her stroke, Jessica ran a half marathon. Since then, she has run five more. While navigating her own health challenges, Lizzy, like Jessica, has competed in DEKA races and smiled the whole time. “I felt like I was dying, and I didn’t, so that was great,” Lizzy jokes.
Having someone who truly understands that health events disrupt your fitness plan makes things a little easier. “It’s made me more open to fitness. I have the willingness to come in by myself and try things on my own,” says Lizzy. She knows she has the help of Jen, Jessica, and other HAC members she’s met along the way.
“It’s crazy because once you’re going through something, you realize everybody’s going through something,” says Jessica, talking about meeting Lizzy. “It’s really cool that we have each other. We didn’t even know we had that in the beginning, but it turned out we both had this crazy year.”
Lizzy and Jessica want others facing health challenges to know it’s worth the discomfort to get through it. When things were really tough, Jessica just kept telling herself, “Everything you want is on the other side of hard.” Listen to your body and to medical advice, but never say no because something is out of your comfort zone.
Jessica is currently training for the DEKA World Championship for her third time, her first full marathon with the American Stroke Association, and her first triathlon. Lizzy shared that she wants to do more DEKA competitions and complete her first HYROX.
Both Lizzy and Jessica have powered through their health events by listening to their bodies and committing themselves to fitness. From a single friendly interaction, they’ve formed a full-blown friendship, encouraging each other to continue their healthy lifestyles and compete as endurance athletes. You never know when a small moment can turn into a lasting connection.
