Williamsburg woman pedals to show her mettle
Foxx wins four cycling golds at National Senior Games
WILLIAMSBURG — By day, Elizabeth Foxx is a doctor, hard at work in an operating room. By night — or before work, after work or whenever she can find time — Foxx is a competitive cyclist, pedaling furiously through the Virginia landscape.
Foxx, 56, won four gold medals at the National Senior Games last month in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was the culmination of plenty of hard work for Foxx, who has been cycling competitively for a few years.
“It was pretty cool,” she said. “I didn’t go there with that expectation. You just never know. There’s lots of people from all over the place that are competing . ... It was fun.”
Foxx qualified through a state race for the Games, which include a wide array of sports, much like the Olympics. Participants, who compete in age groups, must be older than 50.
Foxx was one of a handful of Williamsburg residents who went to the Games, including her coach, Mark Holt, who won three gold medals and a bronze; Natalie Baron, who won a pair
of silver medals; and Jim McDonald, who won a gold.
After years of concentrating on her career and family, Foxx got back into fitness by competing in triathlons. But when a shoulder injury
prevented her from being able to swim, she narrowed her focus to cycling. What started as a fun hobby quickly became more serious for Foxx, who said she “always (needs) a goal.”
“I need a carrot hanging out there,” she continued. “I never considered myself super competitive, but my friends will laugh at me when I say that. A lot of it is,
I do it for myself. I want to beat myself.”
Foxx cycles six days a week, carving out time whenever she can. There are no shortage of places to ride
a bike in the Williamsburg area, she said.
“We’re so fortunate in the options that we have,” she said, naming paths like the Virginia Capital Trail and scenic roads in Charles City County and James City County. When she can take a full day, Foxx sometimes goes as far as Charlottesville to ride in the mountains. She also takes part in group rides, which helps push her.
The cycling community in the area is strong, she said, and part of the reason that Williamsburg put on such a
strong showing in the Senior Games.
“We’ve got tons. If you just look around, we’re like the
annoying people that are riding around and cars are mad at us for biking,” Foxx laughed.
One hope that Foxx has is that her story will encourage others to get out and start biking, no matter their age or stage in life.
“If it motivates or inspires someone to try something they haven’t no matter their age, it would be awesome,”
she said. “It’s never too late.”
With the “incredibly validating” experience of her first Senior Games under her belt, Foxx is already back on her bike. After all, the 2023 National Senior Games are just over a year away.