Page 52 - Sarita Maybin

Our 10th Anniversary Women of Distinction
Don’t Let Your Dreams
PA SS Y OU BY
By Sharon Hightower
Photos courtesy of Denise Mueller
150 mph – on a bicycle? Yep. Read
about the fascinating woman and
her amazing accomplishments. In
her own words:
WAS BORN IN ARIZONA,
I ut I have been a San Diego
b
girl since I was nine months
old. I grew up in Encinitas and ups and downs in business. In
graduated from San Dieguito
High School. I learned dedica- vorced and ironically that was
tion as I watched my parents
give so much to grow their
business, Rancho Santa Fe Se- my coach John Howard who
curity Systems. My father had
52
in half marathons. He invited
me to the Challenged Athletes
Foundation charity fundraising
ride in October 2012.
While training, Coach
John, who had held the paced
bicycle land speed record from
1985-1995 at 152mph, noticed
that the spark and inner drive
I’d had when I was a teenager
was still there. He told me that
always had a healthy lifestyle no woman had ever gone after
and used to jog. In 1986 his the paced bicycle land speed
father bought my Dad and I a record that men have done
couple of mountain bicycles. In since 1899.
early 1987 we entered a local I immediately said I wanted
charity bike ride, and I was to do it and we spent the next
hooked. I enjoyed being able to four years putting the plan
push myself. in place for me to be the first
We did multiple charity woman to set the paced bicycle
rides that year and met two land speed record at 147mph
bicycle coaches that I began on September 12, 2016, at the
working with, John Howard Bonneville Salt Flats during the
and Doreen Smith-Williams. World of Speed event.
I entered my first bicycle race After setting the record, we
in September 1987 and won planned to do a day of record
and got hooked on racing, too. runs to up the speed record,
I raced for five years and won but it had rained overnight.
13 national cycling titles and Frustrated at not being able to
received two podiums at the realize more, we said we would
World Championships. go back another year to go after
the overall record of 167 mph!
I hung the bike up af-
ter high school and entered Well, we planned for 2017 but
the family business after my had to move the attempt to
parents’ divorce. I met my first 2018.
husband there and took over Then we discovered that
the leadership of the business the Hoehn Range Rover vehicle
in the early 1990’s. we used in 2016 would not be
We had three children available, so we were back at
and worked in the business square one in preparation.
for almost 20 years. Much like Also, 2017 turned out to
in bicycle racing, there were be one heck of a year. Not only
did I break bones in February,
2012 my husband and I di- but I also met and married
the man of my dreams, Chris
the year I also got back on the Korenek, in 111 days, ran the
bicycle. I had reconnected with Great Wall of China Marathon
in May, and was shot in my
worked with one of my sons right leg with a 9mm bullet in