Liz Erk, 30
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Loves: Ice hockey
After college, Liz Erk knew she needed to exercise to stay healthy, but nothing motivated her. That changed one evening as she watched women’s ice hockey on TV during the 2006 Winter Olympics. During postgame interviews, team members said they had to overcome the perception that hockey was something women just didn’t do. “I was told that, too,” Erk says, “But these women, whatever negative feedback they received, they still pursued hockey.”
She had a vision of herself chasing the puck down the ice. But there was one problem: Erk couldn’t skate. So when she heard about a beginner’s ice hockey clinic last September, she signed up. “I was a disaster,” Erk says. “But it was so much fun to zip up and down the ice. It was even fun to fall.”
Pretty soon she was burning up the rink for two hours on Saturday nights—and running or lifting weights four times a week to stay in top shape. Hockey, Erk says, has changed her life. “Before, I was always listening to other people’s fascinating stories. Now I’m the person telling stories.”
By Dorothy Foltz-Gray
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