HOUSTON – “It is not possible to do it all, and I think we realize that, but I think in different seasons of our life, you can do different things,” said Jill Niswonger. Jill is one of more than 40 women executives and allies from the energy sector in Houston who will come together to run the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon. It is the largest and one of the toughest marathons in the world. The Women in Energy and Allies is a team of people who come from the energy sector here in Houston. They’re doing it in part for the challenge, but also they are raising money for the Energy Project to support energy literacy and the next generation workforce.
Jill along with two others on the team, Sonal Damani and Jana Schey sat down for a chat on Houston Life to share their marathon journey. For Damani, her run will be bittersweet. “This is my last, last marathon. Houston, you’ve heard it on TV. So it’s for real. It’s my last, last marathon. And what a better way to retire,” she said. While this will be marathon number 12 for Damani, both Niswonger and Schey have never run one before.
“I have to say, one of the things that’s really motivated me is I’m working with an advanced startup that started late last year and we’re doing some absolutely phenomenal things around building an electric chemical reactor that’s going to decarbonize refineries and chemical industries and do so many different things. And these people get up every single day to do what seems like the impossible, and it’s just one step after another. Sometimes it’s two steps back, but everybody gets up and they keep going. And for me, that was very much like what we’re what we’re doing with the marathon,” said Schey.
Watch the video above to hear what kept these women on track, training throughout the hot Houston summer.