By: Jackie Bacon

Harding University Cross Country Alumna

SEARCY, Ark. After she competed in her first 5K race as a six year old, Tia
Stone was hooked on the sport and her passion for running has been growing
ever since.
Stones father, Tony Tarole, was a runner and acted as the initial source for her
running inspiration. In his prime, Tarole could run 10 miles at a sub-6:00 minute
per mile pace.
Because Stone was the oldest and shared her fathers love for running, her and
her father often bonded by going on runs together while she was growing up.
He would ask me if I wanted to run with him and it would only be a few miles,
which is so hard when youre little, but you feel so good when youre done and
like you accomplished so much, Stone said.
Stones first running streak began in eighth grade when she decided that she
would run at least one mile every day, which lasted for over five years. When she
was in high school, Stone continued to improve and was eventually able to beat
her dad in races.
When it was time to start her college search, Stone took advice from her dentist
whom she worked part-time for as an office assistant. The dentist and his wife
both graduated from Harding and enjoyed the school, so Stone decided she
would give it a chance.
Harding was Stones home for the next four years as she chose to accept a
cross country and track scholarship. Stone competed from her freshman year in
fall 1997 through her senior year in spring 2001.
Stone ran the 1,500m, 3K and 5K events at track meets, but she always
preferred cross country to track. She was a key to the success of the cross
country team as her personal best 5K was 18 minutes, 36 seconds and she
consistently ran strong races for her team.
Looking back, Stone was happy with her personal best at the time considering
the lack of strategy that went into her races.

I didnt even have a running watch then, Stone said. I just went out, ran hard
and tried to run by feel.
Womens cross country at Harding had a string of successful post-season
appearances while Stone was on the team.

By: Jackie Bacon

Stones freshman and sophomore seasons at Harding ended with third place
team finishes at the Lone Star Conference Championship and trips to the NCAA
South Central Region meets.
Stones junior year, they won the LSC Championship and finished third of 17
teams at the NCAA South Central Region meet in Abilene, Texas, which
advanced them to the NCAA Division II National meet in Joplin, Missouri where
they finished 12th of 17 teams.
In her final cross country season, Stone and the team earned a second
consecutive conference title. Because Harding changed conferences over the
summer, the 2000 title was a Gulf South Conference Championship. This victory
led them to the NCAA South Region meet in Abilene, Texas, where they took
second place out of 20 teams.
Though Stones last collegiate cross country race at the NCAA National meet in
Chino, California did not go as well as she had hoped, there was one positive
thing that came out of the trip.
Her boyfriend at the time decided to propose to her after the meet while in
California and she said yes. The couple celebrated their 13th year of marriage
last June and has four children, Abi (10), Anthony (8), Anna (6) and Ashton (3).
Stone has never stopped running, but she did back off for a time while she was
having her children. She explained that her husband helped motivate her to
pursue competitive running again.
I know I wouldnt be able to run on a competitive level without the support of
my family, especially my husband, Stone said. He actually got me back into it
when he wanted to run that half marathon in Little Rock.
Following baby number three in April 2008, the couple trained and ran in the
Little Rock Half Marathon together in March 2009. Though Stone went into the
race thinking it was just a bucket list item that would be a one-time thing, she
left that day knowing her outlook had drastically changed.
After this experience I was hooked, Stone said. I was motivated to become a
better runner and push myself again.
Less than five years after revamping her running mindset and only two years
after having baby number four, Stone began crushing her personal best times
from college. She improved her college 5K by 44 seconds after running a 17:52
in July 2013.

By: Jackie Bacon

During her junior year of college in 1999, Stone ran in the Dallas White Rock
Marathon over Christmas break and finished in 3:45:03. Almost exactly 14 years
later, Stone ran the 3 Bridges Marathon in Little Rock and finished in 2:59:19,
nearly 46 minutes faster than her 21-year-old student-athlete self.
To date, Stone has completed 10 marathons and 17 half marathons, as well as
countless local races consisting of 5K, 10K and 15K distances.
In addition to competing in races and trying to improve her times, running also
works its way into other portions of Stones daily life.
Stone created a blog titled Arkansas Runner Mom in 2009 and has used it to
post race recaps for every race she has participated in. She also includes
information about balancing her life as a runner with her life as a mother and
wife.
The blog has been very successful as it has received over 232,007 page views
in its five-year history and has gotten as many as 13,885 views in one month,
which happened in May 2014.
Through comments and questions left on the blog, Stone met several women
that were interested in receiving training programs from her. Stone decided to
get certified and began offering coaching services in January 2014.
In the first month alone, she picked up three clients. She now has 12 clients,
representing six states and three different countries.
Though running has become a very large part of who Stone is, she has never let
it overshadow the importance of her family or get in the way of her role as a
mom; instead, she uses running to teach valuable life lessons to her children.
I want them to see a mom who sets high goals for herself and tries to achieve
them, Stone said. I want them to see the importance of hard work and
dedication.
Stones ability to take on so many responsibilities and still keep the focus on her
family has provided an exceptional example for her children.
In balancing these two areas of my life, it helps to show my children that they
can take care of the people they love while also taking care of themselves,
Stone said.