On Sunday, November 23, Dr. Krispin Barr, Dean of Students at Salem College, checked an item off of her bucket list: completing the Philadelphia Marathon.

“I started running about four years ago,” Barr says. “I was inspired by Salem’s women’s wellness initiatives, and my colleagues in Student Affairs and I decided we needed to be better role models for our students.”

For the last several semesters, Barr has sponsored weekly Deans’ Walks around Salem’s campus and through historic Old Salem. Open to all students, faculty, and staff, a group meets on Friday afternoons for the fun activity that promotes physical fitness. Some Deans’ Walk participants train together to participate in race weekends when their schedules allow.

Barr has completed half-marathons and ten-mile races, but the 2014 Philadelphia Marathon was her first 26.2-mile finish. She ran with her sister Kara Loggins, who works for the Hartley Drive YMCA in High Point. They finished the race together, as family members cheered them on at the end.

Maintaining an active lifestyle is essential to Barr, who has Type I Insulin-Dependent Diabetes. “Running gives me a sense of freedom from my disease. I’ve had diabetes for 21 years, and I turned 50 in August” she says. “I wanted to show my kids that their mommy is strong and that women can do incredible things!”

She is inspired by other Salem women who run, and regularly keeps in touch with them via social media. Prativa Pandey and Laura Sides Watson, both Salem College graduates, are runners; Prativa ran in the Chicago Marathon this year, and Laura runs for charity, regularly raising money to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She has run the New York City Marathon.

Next on Barr’s list is the local YMCA Mistletoe Run, which she will complete with Salem College Residential Coordinators Cara Arena and Susan Lawhead in early December.