User:Maggiediv

Mararet Caroline Travis, born in Emporium, PA to the parents of Paul Martin travis of Punxatawny, PA and Virginia Ellen Goff of Emporium, PA. Travis grew up n a loewer socially ecomomic background with her family making the best of what thet had through her father doinf various hard-labor jobs and subsiding on welfare assistance.

From an early age, Travis knew that she had two options. One, to stay in this town of 3,000 people with no jobs or do whatever she she could do to make a better life for her and her family.

Travis excelled in softball from the the time she was 6 years old. She made the Girl's Allstar team from ages 11-15 as a starting pitcher. From then she moved on to track and field and cross country breaking multiple records. This was someone with sheer determination. She graduated in the top 5 of her highschool class with honors, accepted a 4 year degree in nursing and continued running in college at Edinboro University.

After graduating she was married and moved to Charlotte, NC where she worked at a traumatic brain and spinal cord unit. She continued running and ran her first marathon and finished in the top 25. Two years later she moved to Chicago, IL when she accepted a position as a HIV/AIDS Research Nurse and continued her running. She ran 4 more marathons, but while training for the Pittsburgh Marathon and Potter County Marathon in PA, she broke her hip and required a metal plate and pins in her left hip. That was in 2002. She has never ran another marathon since this time, but has ran multiple half marathons and shorter races.

When last spoke with Travis, she had divorced in 2008, but she states that her goal is to just continue running and if a marathon is in her future that she she will run it.'''