Personal Bests

5 km − 17:20
The Great Race 2008

10 km − 35:30
Columbus 10K 2009

20 km − 1:17:40
Ogden 20K 2009

½ marathon − 1:18:52
Parkersburg News 2009

Marathon − 2:46:01
USA Marathon Championship 2009

Sarah Bashinski-Flament

Coach: Ted Rupe
Event: 10K/Marathon
Team: Run Ohio Racing Team
Sponsor: Infinite Running

Proud of being a cheesehead, Sarah’s roots take her back to her hometown of Wausau, WI. Since she was 12 years old, she found her niche in distance running and quickly became a track and cross country standout that lasted throughout high school. Following the momentum of her running career, she received a running scholarship to North Dakota State University. However, after two years of being plagued with injuries and missing the Midwest, she decided to transfer to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to finish out her education and running career. It was during this time where Sarah earned herself two-time All American honors in the 5,000 meters and cross country. Following graduation with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she decided to pursue her career in social work within the Milwaukee area by helping children involved in the court system.

After taking a much needed hiatus from her post collegiate running career, Sarah focused on going back to graduate school for her Masters in Elementary Education and starting a family. She and her husband Jeff, now live in Poland, OH and are the proud parents of two children, Logan (5) and Alyssa (2). Although 11 years had gone by, something sparked within Sarah to once again foster that competitive drive she had once felt in her earlier years of running. Little by little, winning local races grew to being the top American finisher at larger, prize money races. Acknowledging her second wind, she put in the hard work and consistent dedication to see what opportunities were within her reach. A little over a year after giving birth to Alyssa, she finished as the 1st Ohioan female and 23rd American at the Boston Marathon in 2009. A mere 5 months later she dropped 8 minutes off her marathon time on little marathon training and qualified for the Olympic Trials at the 2009 USA Marathon Championships in Minneapolis, MN.

Today, the sky is the limit. At 34 yrs. old with a new appreciation for the sport, and running lifetime PR’s across the board, each race is a new race with many goals yet to obtain. However, since Sarah is currently a stay at home mom, sometimes even harder than the most challenging course is being able to juggle her family duties with her intense training regime. Although the day never seems to have enough hours, the job gets done no matter what it is. She feels the successes in life far outweigh the difficulties one has to go through in order to achieve them. Sarah is looking forward to proving herself nationally as an elite runner while her family cheers her on from the sidelines.

Race Highlights

• 2010 Road Runners Club of America Runner of the Year Nominee (TBD)
• 2012 Olympic Trials Qualifier-Twin Cities Marathon, 30th, (2:46:01)
• 2009 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships-6 km,
  5th Team (22:05)
• 2009 Boston Marathon, 23rd American, 1st Ohioan (2:54:09)
• 1997 All American Honors in 5k & Cross Country