I love driving fast!

When people ask me to tell them one unique thing about me, I say I race cars. I race on paved Vermont mountain roads, closed to the public, that have many types of turns and offer a variety of challenges to a driver. They don’t expect that from a 5-foot-3-inch woman, who is an informatics nurse. I don’t look like the typical car racer; I wear dresses, and, like my friends, like makeup and fashion.

I didn’t grow up in a car-racing family, nor do I build or work on my own cars. I became interested in racing cars when I was newly married, about 15 years ago. I was at an autocross, which is a timed event to test one’s driving abilities against others by navigating a course set up with traffic cones in a parking lot. My husband and I noticed a lot of drivers were missing turns in the course. When I commented about it, some of the drivers encouraged me to try the course in my car. I was hesitant at first, but, when I tried it, discovered that I really enjoy racing.

Since then, I have done some track events and ice racing, but, when I did my first hillclimb on the Bolton Valley access road, I fell in love. I loved how fast I felt I was going and the thrill of the race. Since then, I have mainly been doing hillclimbs. There are very few women who race with us. I think they just need to come out and try it, because, in our club, everyone is treated the same.

The clubs I race with are friendly and supportive, just like the nursing community. It’s a nice way to get stress out, after a busy workweek, or just to hang out with a group of friends who treat me like family. The No. 1 question I get after they find out I race is, “How fast are you going?” I laugh and say I’m too busy focusing on the course and watching out for squirrels; I don’t have time to look at the speedometer.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services are not posted.