Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Michael Catlin, a field artillery automated tactical data systems specialist...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - What is the secret to a happy marriage? How does a couple continue to find interesting things to talk about after being together for years? What’s more, how do two people ensure they don’t become stuck in boring day-to-day routines? According to one couple stationed at Fort Bragg, you might as well run.
Sgt. Michael Catlin, a field artillery automated tactical data system specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, and his wife, Morgan Catlin, a personal trainer, find that running together makes their marriage run well.
Morgan says she’s long been passionate about running, and although he says he’s not quite as passionate about the activity, Michael is training with her for the Mike to Mike Half Marathon in May.
When asked why he wasn’t planning to run the All American Marathon, he said with a laugh, “I may be crazy, but I’m not that crazy.”
“Someday,” promised Morgan.
The couple has been married for four years and they run in local races in Fayetteville and on base. Last month, they ran in the Fort Bragg 5K Walk/Run together. They said they plan to participate in the Race for Hope 5K in Fayetteville this March as well as the Color Run in May. To keep it fun, they make a game out of passing the other competitors. They admit to getting competitive with each other too.
“Sometimes we’ll run sprints and that’s when I win,” said Michael.
“Yeah, that’s the only time he beats me,” teased Morgan.
They first met while attending Saginaw Valley State University in their home state of Michigan. Michael wanted to prepare for basic training and his friends suggested he run with Morgan.
“It was embarrassing because she was so much faster than I was,” he said.
“At first he didn’t really like to run and it was a huge battle to get him to run with me,” she added.
While Morgan keeps pushing Michael to run more, he contributes to the team by pushing her to train with weights.
“We do a lot of cross-training,” he said. “She didn’t really like to do weights, but as she took her certification she saw the importance behind (weight lifting) and now she’s a beast in the gym.”
“She has no hesitation to get in line, and get in the rack and go to town,” he said.
Morgan attributes Michael’s efforts to diversify their training as what has led to her success as a personal trainer.
“He’s been super supportive,” she said. “He’s even been my guinea pig for some of it. I try new stuff out on him. He helps me push through when I’m tired or ready to stop.”
Professionally, Michael has seen the benefits as well. He credits her help for a 40-second decrease in his Army Physical Fitness Test run time and says he doesn’t ever get taped anymore. He also believes the workout regiment is a critical component of the rapport in their marriage.
“I wouldn’t run as far as I do without her and I know she wouldn’t push herself as hard in the gym. I think it makes a strong bond for us because we work together as a team and we’re not just a husband and wife. If we do get in a little bit of an argument, it’s a great stress relief. If she comes home and had a bad day, we’ll just go to the gym and work it out.”
“I think it’s a great stress-reliever,” Morgan confirmed.
The runs are their opportunity to communicate and really connect with each other.
“We talk about anything-random stuff,” said Morgan.
She said they spend time together on Sunday preparing meals for the week to ensure they’re both eating right for their training regimen. With different schedules, they often eat without each other.
“I feel better knowing that he has something healthy to eat,” she said.”We keep each other accountable.”
To keep things interesting, the couple varies their routes and the type of running they do. They do long runs as well as sprints. They run on the post’s numerous tracks, on machines and at the Cape Fear River Trail.
“Every time you pick a new spot, it gets better. You’re looking at different things,” said Michael. ”We try to make it fun. Some days we talk and others we listen to our music. It’s our bonding thing.”
Morgan said she will sometimes tell Michael they’re running only two miles but secretly intends to push him past three. She does understand their limits however.
“It is hard because he does PT in the morning,” said Morgan. “I understand why he doesn’t care to workout after work.”
She makes sure they give all they can on the roads and trails though.
“Otherwise we would probably just sit on the couch and eat all night while we watch TV,” she said.
Michael and Morgan have two Labradors, but bringing the dogs along for the runs hasn’t worked out. When her large dog spotted a squirrel and began pursuit, he tried to take her along on the chase.
“He’s about 80 pounds and likes to do his own thing,” said Michael. “He about ripped her arm out of socket.”
Because of that incident, Michael will remain her only household running partner.
“That was the worst experience of my life,” she said laughing. “It was horrible.”
Michael and Morgan say they believe they have a great marriage and that their hobby is a metaphor for the dynamic of their relationship.
“To get at it like an Army metaphor, our relationship is to standard,” said Michael. “There’s nothing wrong with it. But you should always train to exceed the standard, and I feel the harder we push each other running is how we push our marriage. I’m going to push her to be better and she’s going to push me to be better. I think if we just settled in our marriage, it would be like settling in our running and we’d never get better.”
“Because we enjoy a healthy activity … we do better,” he concluded.
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2014 19:49 |
| Story ID: | 121390 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FLINT, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 133 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, How to run a marriage, by SFC Jason Hull, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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