Cole wins age bracket in Women's Run

On Saturday, May 12, the Mayor of Dodson Terri Cole was able to do something she had never done before; win her age bracket in the annual Montana Women's Run held in Billings.

Cole ran in the two-mile event placing first in the female 75-79 age bracket. She finished in the top 15 percent of runners overall placing 386th of 3423 and ran the race in 23 minutes and 46 seconds.

"I was pretty pleased with my placement overall out of that many runners," Cole told the PCN. "For an old lady that is not bad."

Cole has always been among the top finishers in her age bracket, but first place had always eluded her until now.

"I have placed every single time," Cole said. "The lowest was fourth and now the highest is first, but I have always been second or third in my age group, but I had never made it to first."

Cole runs the race yearly with her daughters.

"It's a family event that we do every year," Cole said.

It is their family's tradition to go to breakfast after the morning's race. This year was no different, but at this year's post race breakfast, Cole had no idea that she had won her age bracket.

"After breakfast, we went over to my son's house and his neighbor was one of the ladies that helps with the race," Cole said. "She came over with my ribbon telling me that I had won first place. I was so excited that I got teary-eyed."

Though she runs three days every week and works out, the win came as a surprise to Cole because her training was rough due to the rough winter of 2017-18.

"I had a lot of problems running this winter because it was so cold," Cole said. "The coldest I went out was four above, but it's very hard to get out there when it is that cold. I wasn't going to run when it was thirty below."

Running seems to be a consistency in the Cole family, as Terri paid very close attention to her grand-daughter TaChante' Cole, who had just competed at the State B Track and Field Meet in distance running.

"I am really proud of all that she has accomplished with her running," Cole said.

Terri's daughters also ran in the Montana Women's Run.

"My daughter Melinda Cummings is still running. She was the state champion in the 800 back in the day. She ran the 5-mile. And my other daughter Shannon Merchen ran the two-mile with us and this is the first year that she beat me. I beat her every year until now but I was happy for her."

Terri had close to ten family members running; five daughters and three grand-daughters in the Women's Run including, Cummings, Merchen, Kelly Radtke, Colleen Lueck, Patty Vaughan, Taryn Vaughan, Jayda Handley, Maycee Handley and Marley Merchen.