Kathleen Resnick is the nursing supervisor at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, the first female president of the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Department and mom to three teenagers. And she still finds time to run with her Baltimore County ASA chapter.
 
“I actually got into ASA because a fellow firefighter, Howie Cohen,” she says. “We’ve known each other for 25 years, and we’re both runners. I’ll be 50 this year, and I would get upset when I couldn’t beat my race times.”
 
ASA made running fun again. “It just made me so happy to see the smiles on the faces of the athletes and families. It gave me the spark that I needed to get back into running.”
 
COVID-19 has put her ASA runs on hold, but has also made her professional life busier. At the hospital, she helped train staff and prepare the hospital for patients with COVID-19. As a firefighter, she is responding to calls of people with COVID-19.
 
Both the fire station and the hospital have put in place new protocols that require Resnick and her colleagues to wear protective equipment, keep surfaces sterilized, and undergo temperature checks as they report to work.
 
In the early days, she worried about her own safety and about infecting her husband and children. Now, three months into the pandemic, she’s settled into a rhythm and feels safe. “I just hope to get back to ASA soon,” she says.

​Credit: Karen Nitkin (ASA WingMan)

If you know Frederick WingMan Charlene Schultz, you probably know her as the “queen of flair” because she piles on the bling for races like the Turkey Trot and Candy Cane 5K. It just seems more fun to her when the athletes and joggers are decked out in festive gear.
 
Charlene started running five years ago, and joined ASA at the urging of her friend Kerry Blackmer, the chapter’s community coordinator.
 
These days, she misses the positivity and energy of her ASA family. “We cheer and support each other,” she says. “I love the families and the athletes. There’s a true bond there. You see the parents of the athletes every race. The athletes enjoy the run. They push us as much as we push them.”
 
But she’s keeping busy. Charlene, a CT technician at Howard County General Hospital, has been coping with the added stress of new protocols and concerns related to COVID-19. That includes wearing a face mask, shield and disposable gown for her entire 12-hour shift.
 
Though it has been difficult, she says, the support of her colleagues has made it bearable. “We tell each other daily it will be OK,” she says.
 
“I love what I do.  People say, ‘thank you thank you you’re a hero,’ but to me it’s my job. I do it every day.”
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Even though she doesn’t currently have ASA runs for motivation, she is still active, finding time to ride her stationary bike, lift weights or go out for runs with Blackmer. ”Any movement is good movement,” she says. “I could be addicted to keeping fit, but at 49, if this is my only addiction I’ll take it.” 

Credit: Karen Nitkin (ASA WingMan)