Bernd’s Story

Overweight and out of shape, Bernd Liebscher was inspired to run and complete the Bangkok Marathon after reading articles on training and nutrition on the Take The Magic Step Web site. Along the way he lost 59 pounds and changed his life. This is his story, in his own words. More

Bob’s Story

Prior to entering the Take The Magic Step program, I was a dedicated runner but was experiencing high cholesterol, stagnant performance, and chronic pain in my calves.

The advice provided by Uta and Dieter on nutrition, training regimes, and stretching totally revamped my health as well as my approach to the sport! Now I am off my cholesterol medication, without calf pain, and running podium age group finishes in many of my races.

I credit my breakthrough to their innovative Take The Magic Step program. I’m amazed at how much a regular guy like me has been able to benefit from Uta’s experience as a world-class marathoner and from Dieter’s experience in training professional athletes.

While I’ll never win the Boston Marathon, I have and will continue to benefit greatly from those who have!

Dave’s Story

In May 2004, I was 45 years old and had just started a new job in a company where everyone seemed to talk a lot about running, biking, eating right, and staying in shape. I had no idea who Uta Pippig was at the time other than she appeared to be someone with very high energy and an exceptionally positive and inspiring attitude who came to our office once in a while to talk about nutrition, training, and motivation.

A short time later, a coworker told me he was planning to do a sprint triathlon (1/4 mile swim, 10-mile bike ride, and 3.1-mile (5K) run). I was in fairly good shape and had always wanted to do one, so I made a commitment to join him.

With only ten weeks to go, I began training. It was then I learned about Uta’s background as a world-class marathoner. She told me that the goal of a first triathlon should be simply to finish and to concentrate on just enjoying myself and completing it. I liked that philosophy—especially since I had no qualms about not being one of the top finishers. Well, the big day came and I completed my first sprint triathlon—not very fast or pretty—but I did it! It was so exciting that I participated in three more sprint triathlons that year.

By December, I decided to commit to doing an Olympic distance triathlon—1.5K (.93 miles) swim, 40K (24.85 miles) bike, and 10 K (6.2 miles) run. With four months to train, my wife decided to sign up, too. Under Uta’s guidance, we biked whenever we could, swam a mile once or twice per week, and worked up to running 7.2 miles every weekend. When it came time for the actual run, I personally was so exhausted that I didn’t know if I could do it, but I wouldn’t quit. Happily, both my wife and I made it across the finish line!

In 2005, I did several more sprint triathlons and eventually completed a half-marathon by year-end. Participating in triathlons made me wonder what else I might be able to accomplish. I’m proud to say that four team members and I succeeded in kayaking across the state of Florida in a charity event for the American Cancer Society in February 2006. We had such an amazing time and felt such a sense of accomplishment that we have since kayaked down the entire Suwannee River and made the round-trip on the Everglades National Park’s Wilderness Waterway!

Until I met Uta and so many colleagues who were inspired by her, these triumphs were seemingly out of my reach. Now when I hear of a challenge, I no longer say, “Yeah, right, I would never do that!” Instead, I push myself to get out of my comfort zone and encourage my friends to do the same. People can do so much more if they just believe they can—it just takes a change in attitude, a goal, a commitment, and the willingness to Take The Magic Step.

Finally, I’d like to share three quotes I keep handy:

• “Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.”
• “I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds that I was doing something incredibly stupid…and I went ahead anyway.”
• “Just Do It!”

Rosie’s Story

Years ago, I used to get a lot of exercise through aerobics, jogging, and cycling, although I must confess that I tended to overdo things and not pay much attention to my diet. Then, after graduating from college, I began working full-time, which left me too busy to exercise.

Eventually, I found the time to take yoga lessons, which was really good for me both physically and mentally. Then a patella fracture in 2000 threw me off track and seemed to keep me from getting back into any kind of physical activity. Although I wasn’t happy about being so inactive, I just wasn’t motivated enough to change. I knew what I needed to be doing, but kept finding all kinds of excuses why I just couldn’t take the first step.

After seven long years without regular physical exercise (except for walks with my dog, Cleo), a mutual friend introduced me to Uta in spring of 2007. I was looking for a job as a professional translator and she needed one! Shortly after beginning to work for her, I began to experience many changes in my life, both professionally and personally, as she inspired me to focus on yoga, running, and nutrition. Although she never pushed me, she was a patient listener and always seemed to find the right words to encourage me. I also found inspiration to change in the wonderful articles in the Take The Magic Step yoga section.

Finding inspiration led me to enroll in a yoga class and, shortly thereafter, also in a gymnastics class! It was wonderful to feel my body in action again! My desire to also get back into jogging began to take root and accelerated as I began to edit the Web site’s motivation articles; yet taking the first step remained a challenge.

During this time, Uta never tired of encouraging me. She was especially delighted when I gave her the good news last January that I had found a jogging partner—I was so excited! Of course, the first runs were pretty tough, and in the beginning we ran only three or four kilometres a day. After about six weeks we changed the course and were able to run seven kilometres in only 50 minutes! I was so proud of my accomplishment—especially now that I am 47—that I had to send Uta an e-mail at once!

Whenever we’re on the phone, we talk about my running progress. At the moment, I am working hard to get “unstuck” so I can run more than 8K. In the meantime, Uta and the Take The Magic Step team gently remind me that the ups and downs in my performance are completely normal.

With Uta’s advice at hand, I am very optimistic that it won’t be long before I can run more than 8K. In fact, my running partner and I are already planning to participate in a 10 K run by next fall!