POWERGRAMS

2 FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA The country lyrics to "I've Been Everywhere" capture the essence of Nicole Hedrick's running career. This Power Delivery Distribution engineer at the Metro South Office has "crossed the deserts bare … breathed the mountain air" to run many races. The sheer number of marathon miles Hedrick has run is impressive: 1,021 miles, about the distance from Birmingham to Poughkeepsie, New York. Hedrick is well on track to reaching her goal of running marathons in all 50 states before she's 40. In the past nine years, she's run marathons in 30 states. Most recently, she ran in the Anchorage Runfest Aug. 19-20 in Alaska. A close friend from college joined Hedrick for the 26.2-mile run. "She made a pact with me that she'd run every tenth marathon with me," said Hedrick, who will take part in the Ironman triathlon at Panama City Beach, Florida, on Nov. 4. A grueling feat of athleticism, the Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon. A natural athlete, Hedrick has always enjoyed friendly competition and flourished in sports growing up. She joined the girls' basketball team in first grade. "I grew up in Texas, and they had prey much all the sports you could want," Hedrick said, flashing a wide smile. "I was an only child, but my parents prey much let me try anything. I've always been a sports-minded person." While Hedrick excelled in math – "I liked math and it was easy for me" – she also took easily to springboard diving, volleyball, basketball and track at Tascosa High School in Amarillo. Hedrick played club lacrosse during her sophomore to senior years at Auburn University, finishing her first half-marathon when the lacrosse season ended. "I kind of picked it up," Hedrick said of her lacrosse skills, which she shares as the coach of the seventh-grade girls' team at Homewood Middle School. During college, Hedrick worked as a co-op student for three semesters in Distribution at Georgia Power's Columbus Business Office. She earned her B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Auburn University in 2007. Though her parents are active, they don't share Hedrick's extreme athleticism. Her mother Meg's missed turn on the course at the 2014 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix, Arizona, however, became a shining moment for them both. "My Mom accidentally did a half-marathon with me," Hedrick said, grinning. "I was running and she was in the 5-mile walk. She kept going and going, and finished 13.1 miles. Once she'd started, she said 'I might as well finish it.'" Besides running, Hedrick is passionate about volunteering in the community. She is president of the Magic City Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization and a board member for the Rotaract Club of Birmingham. From Hedrick's perspective, the Magic City offers the best of natural, scenic areas for exercising. "Birmingham has awesome, beautiful areas to go running," said ENGINEER AIMS TO RUN MARATHONS IN ALL 50 STATES

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