Lesley Warren; all things considered
Lesley may well be the most diverse individual in BHRC. She
is a gourmet chef and ran her own catering service, “A Mobile Feast.” She
is a member of the Pennington County Search and Rescue Team, volunteer
firefighter for Whispering Pines and since July 1st , full-time firefighter
with the South Dakota Wildlife Fire Prevention Department. She
physical activities are equally diverse. She is a walker, rapidly
becoming a runner, a kick boxer and ballet aficionado. While she
has walked off and on over the years, she has become a serious walker
since the Valentines Day run/walk in February 2002. She currently
walks 4-5 miles three times a week and is increasing her running up from
1 minute sprints to 5 minutes and hopes to run a marathon some day. She
is already an avid walker, together with her walking partner, Mary Snortland
(see related profile). They both completed the Deadwood Trail 14-miler.
On the side, she helps her husband Mark run a cattle ranch south of Rapid City. She has been married to Mark for the past 20 years. He is from an extended ranching family from Minnesota. They recently hosted a group of international visitors to cattle branding. She met the visitors the evening before at a cook out reception hosted by your editor. Her children are equally active. Her oldest daughter, who resides in San Francisco, is a member of two running clubs and was the main motivator for Lesley to take up walking/running. Her middle daughter, Kristen, who attended the May hosted fun run with her mom, is a junior in college and the University of South Dakota and walks with her mom whenever she is visiting. Son, Denys, is the youngest and will be attending Stevens High School next year. He is a roller blader. Lesley concludes, “I have a kid for every physical event.”
In addition to her walking/running, this has been a very busy and hot fire season for her. She has assisted in the Grizzly Gulch fire in Deadwood and the Little Elk Fire at Piedmont, and dozens of smaller fires throughout the summer.
Lesley is one of the most sociable of the BHRC members. Unless on fire duty, she is a regular at the Wednesday evening fun runs and always joins in and contributes to the good camaraderie post run. She really enjoys her fellow BHRC folk. “You guys are so much fun, and encouraging,” she concludes.