LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Angela Stanford signed up to run a marathon in the middle of the LPGA season. Her first marathon. Actually, her first race outside of a 5k Turkey Trot.
Phil Mickelson fasts to reboot. Stanford races.
It’s a big, bold goal that she talked about out loud in public for the first time on Wednesday at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. She’ll run the LA Marathon on March 8 before starting the LPGA’s West Coast swing.
“I played just about every sport except soccer growing up because I didn’t like to run,” said the 42-year-old Stanford. “And I feel like I’m hopfairly athletic, and running has always been really hard. So I thought, you know, I didn’t feel very strong mentally last year. I felt pretty weak in general. I thought, you know what, I’m going to figure out how to beat this. I have to be stronger mentally out here, and I guess the best way to do that is to train for something. So I’m going to do it. And not qualifying for Asia was a blessing for me at this time in my life. I’ve always enjoyed going to Asia and playing there, but it was nice to be at home in October.”
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After Wednesday’s pro-am round, Stanford planned to run four miles with Cydney Clanton. She recently ran 16 miles on the treadmill to avoid the rain and watch football.
“My legs have never hurt like that,” she said.
She already has pulled so many things from the experience that she can relate back to golf, and the race is still two months out. She’s been conscious about staying healthy too, working closely with a trainer. Last year Stanford had the LPGA physios look at her stride. She’s trying to change her diet too, though some days are better than others.
“Some of my best runs have been after I’ve had pizza,” she said, laughing.
After winning a major for the first time at age 40, Stanford came down out of the clouds and experienced her first serious injury in a 20-year career. Coming back from that has proved difficult. The 2019 season couldn’t end quick enough.
But there’s a pep in her step this week at the Diamond Resorts, where coming face-to-face with Justin Verlander stopped her cold. Stanford is a sports fan in general, but baseball is a particularly strong passion. In 2014 she visited the Twins’ Target Field, her final stop on a tour of the nation’s ballparks.
She’s in heaven this week, but the goals don’t stop at fun.
“First and foremost, I need a top 20 because last year was the first year in my career I didn’t have a top 20,” said Stanford. “So I think that one hurt the most because I’ve always taken a lot of pride in being consistent and always having a top 20, top 10, always being in the top 50, 60 in the money, and I just wasn’t. So I have some small goals like that. Then I have that outrageous goal of the Olympics. You just never know.”
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