Kara Crotts Shines

by   December 25, 2025 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Kara Crotts Shines as Rowan’s Best Female Runner

    Kara Crotts first found running at 8 years old when she participated in “Girls on the Run” from third grade to fifth grade. Kara continued in Southeasr Middle School’s track program. She’s still friends with many of the girls she met through these programs.

   Kara tried other sports like volleyball, horseback riding, and soccer but running was the only thing she stuck with. Kara said, “I think running works for me because it requires me to be mentally and physically tough. Running teaches me to stay disciplined and calm during hard moments. My best moment in running was the Rowan County Championship meet this year because I won individually and my team won. I looked forward to this meet all season and knew it would be tough considering the competition. It made me feel that all the hard work that I put in had paid off.”

    Kara’s family includes her mom and dad, Tracy and Jody Crotts. Neither parent were athletes, but they have always been supportive of Kara’s sport and have never missed an event. When not running, Kara enjoys hanging out with friends and family, trying new things, listening to music and watching movies.

     By running year-round with cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, Kara stays sharp. She said, “My favorite season is indoor track. I enjoy attending bigger meets where the competition is fierce. My mileage is normally around 35-38 miles a week and goes up to 40 on weeks I do not have races. When training the week of a meet, my mileage will slightly decrease so I am ‘fresher’ on race day.”

   During the off-season, Kara does most of her run’s solo, but the team will meet for practice several days a week. Kara said, “I enjoy running alone to clear my mind, but I always have a fun time when running with my teammates. I believe there should be a good balance between the two.”

    Often the best high school runners don’t compete with adult runners in area races. Why they don’t is a column for another day. This was Kara’s third year in a row taking part in the Butterball 5K. She said, “It is a fantastic way to start my Thanksgiving morning. I convinced a few of my current teammates to sign up the night before and saw a former teammate there. I had just come off a week break post cross country season, so I was feeling a little rusty. Local 5K’s are different from cross country meets, there is such a wide range of ages. Cross country meets are on grass and in the woods, you never know what kind of surface to expect. I enjoy doing local 5K’s and would like to do more during the off-season.”

   Dad Jody Crotts said, “Winter Flight 2024 is when we really noticed how Kara had evolved as a runner.  We had never watched her warmup before a race. She warmed up under the bleachers at Shuford Stadium, and we were amazed at the combination of grace and strength with her lunges, kicks and stretches. Kara came to compete and it showed.  She finished 7th, second female overall, and won her age group.” 

   As Rowan’s high school female runner of the year, Kara continued, “I bring my competitiveness in other components of my life besides running. I strive to push myself because I want to excel at whatever I am doing. I know that by me doing the absolute bare minimum, I will not carry out my goals. I find myself being competitive in academics and in personal growth. I would describe myself as hardworking and optimistic and am willing to put in the work and always give my best, even when I am not feeling 100%. I approach things with a positive mindset by only worrying about what is in my control, this helps me stay motivated. I’m considering adding cross-training in the future.”

   Kara’s immediate goal is to excel in indoor track, where she hopes to advance to the NCHSAA 5A state championships. Kara said, “For the rest of my high school career, I just want to keep progressing and see where it takes me. Running is something I want to pursue throughout my life, and I could definitely see myself running in college.”

    Next Saturday, we have SRR’s own Santa Run 5K and Fun Run hosted by the Millbridge Ruritans across from Sloan Park. Bigfoot sightings are common in that area!

Look for the Santa Run and other upcoming events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org

Gotta Run: Kara Crotts shines as Rowan’s best female runner

Living Large in a Small House

by   December 24, 2025 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Did you have a good Thanksgiving? I sure hope so. For me it was bittersweet without my Beloved. David was always the main cook and the rest of us just contributed a side dish or dessert. This year all three of our daughters were able to be here with their husbands, plus three of our grandkids. To say the house was full is surely an understatement. Apparently everyone thought there wouldn’t be enough to eat, so each cook prepared extra. The guys fried two turkeys, because why not? When we surveyed the crowd ahead of time, pumpkin pie was named as the favorite dessert. So of course I made four. Then Stephanie and Shane tried out new dessert recipes so we’d have a little variety. She made a fabulous black bottom coconut pie while Shane concocted an apple cake with a cheesecake topping. Oh! And Sweetie Marie, granddaughter number three made brownies with a fudge icing. The problem was finding a place to put everything. Did I mention I have a very small house? Not tiny like the trendy kind. But the kind where the laundry room was the only place left to put desserts. The washer and dryer never looked so good! Of course the other daughters filled in with potatoes and dressing and veggies oh my! Black Friday was spent seeing my oldest daughter and her husband off on their fourteen hour journey back to Illinois; then emptying the dishwasher and well… finding things. Considering the house was packed a day earlier with so many people it was hard to find a place to land half a butt cheek, things were surprisingly tidy afterwards. I did have to take out a search for an oven rack. I have no idea how it got there but hey. Who cares! The back deck worked just fine for an oven rack with no where else to go. Family gathered, food was enjoyed, and a good time was had by all. I’m sure David would be proud. I know I am. Nothing says love like the rallying of a bunch of kids taking care of their mama. And that they did. As we look forward to Christmas, let’s hold tightly to the most important things. Which as you know, are not things at all.

Photo by Sweetie Marie with her Poppy’s camera.

When the Ornament Shattered

by   December 21, 2025 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

I remember when our first Christmas ornament broke. Literally, the first ornament my husband and I received. It was either for our wedding or at Christmas, and I think my mom purchased it from a lady who was just beginning a business with painting doodle characters on ornaments and personalizing them. It was cute, and many families in our area had them. You may even have a very similar adornment on your tree today.

During the early years of our marriage, we had survived a stage 3 cancer, rocky finances (thanks in part to bills for experimental treatment not covered by insurance but effective nonetheless), and learning to communicate as a couple. We were fragile. Things felt unsteady at times. And then, the ornament – a symbol of our covenant – was broken. It hit me like, well, a ton of bricks on a glass ornament! I was certainly more emotional over evergreen decor than seemed normal, but we did not replace the shattered bauble. I learned to move on with life and realize that our marriage was much more secure than a temporal symbol.

Since then, we have had many broken ornaments. So many that we have an annual ornament hospital bin that gets attention either by me or my go-to fixer (my middle son). Usually, the ornament is salvageable with a bit of super glue or E-6000 glue. We no longer buy glass ornaments that shatter.

Many other broken things come to the surface during the holidays. No doubt, you have your own sense of woe and sadness. Cherished loved ones who have passed. Estranged relationships. Boundaries of time and distance that create difficulty in connecting with family relationships; one cannot be two places at once, and has to make a choice. Loss in other ways – jobs, health, stability in some way.

In another week, those who do not know the joy and stillness of the 12 days of Christmas leading to Epiphany will begin to experience longing, sadness, and depression as things come to an end. The gifts are given, the gatherings cease for another year, and a bleak and weary winter seems to loom (despite the sunshine on Christmas Day). Even my youngest children talk of post-Christmas blues.

Christmas is a season of hope, long after the joy has passed. Jesus appeared in a broken-down stable in a manger to one day restore the broken relationships each of us has with God. O Holy Night is a song worth revisiting, with stars (special for this momentous occasion) shining brightly amidst a world riddled with a history of “sin and error pining” since Adam and Eve’s exodus from Eden. But then, Jesus “appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Wow, “felt its worth” – do we really? The Glory of heaven left that perfect place to come redeem and restore our relationship with God. He loves us that deeply. This should do something for our identity and sense of worth. The “thrill of hope” that we no longer have to live in our brokenness can lead to our own “weary world rejoicing!”

This week, you may have more gatherings that remind you of loss and brokenness. It can take one’s breath away and even make us unable to speak or fully engage as we may have done at one time. You may have to celebrate in solitude, where once there was a houseful of celebration. But one thing has not changed: there is still a “thrill of hope” within our grasp if we can see it. Embrace that, even if quietly, amidst the broken ornaments.

1 … 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 … 240