Beatriz Fritschler is no stranger to challenges. This Sunday (March 16), she was one of more than 28,000 athletes to run in the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon produced by New York City-based nonprofit New York Road Runners. After running 13.1 miles through Brooklyn and Manhattan, crossing the finish line in Central Park wasn’t the only milestone she celebrated. March marks the month when she celebrates her seventh anniversary since surviving a ruptured brain aneurysm.
“Not only did I survive, but I came out intact,” she tells Remezcla. “After that, I started taking better care of myself. I experienced levels of wellness and joy that I never even knew were possible through my health journey.”
Before her ruptured brain aneurysm in 2018, Fritschler faced a number of health complications. She says she was in “bad shape” for most of her 30’s and struggled with reproductive health issues, fibroids, anemia and high blood pressure. “I was very sick before the aneurysm, but it was the peak of the worst. It was the combination of a really awful long journey with my body,” Fritschler says.
In her memoir, Embody Joy, Fritschler wrote about her journey immigrating from the Dominican Republic in the 1995. For years, she prioritized assimilating to life in the U.S., where she focused on learning English, going to school, and working. Fritschler shared, “My body was an afterthought. It took going through a severe health crisis for me to take my body seriously and turn things around out of gratitude for my body helping me survive the aneurysm experience.”
In her 40’s, she reached her peak health, training with women in her community and embracing her potential. At 45 years old, Fritschler took up running for the first time ever. For the first few weeks, jogging was challenging. But one day, she decided to run for as long as she could and she ran a mile. “I got home after running a mile, and I recorded myself crying. I was like ‘Oh my God, I couldn’t even do that as a kid,’” she says.
Soon after, Fritschler became a member of New York Road Runners and started training with her local group. She started signing up for races and in 2022, she ran her first NYC Half marathon. In the last few years, Fritschler also became a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and wellness coach. “I got all those credentials to support my own personal journey and help other women achieve better health.”
Fritschler also shared that her health journey has also helped her grow professionally and given her the confidence to pursue her entrepreneurial side. Today, she’s a wellness entrepreneur and founder of Executive Losers. Fritschler said, “It’s all about helping executive women shed their weight, shed their stress, shed their illnesses, and shed what’s holding them back.”
This year’s United Airlines NYC Half Marathon marks Fritschler’s fourth run. And Fritschler shares the important role running played in her healing journey with the hope to inspire others. “Running was a great way to level up my fitness and challenge myself, but I think the benefit has been more psychological than physical,” Fritschler says. “Thanks to running, I have become more daring and confident, because if you can run a half marathon, you can handle a difficult meeting at work or a difficult conversation. It has made me bolder.”
A portion of the proceeds of the sales of Beatriz Fritschler’s book Embody Joy, goes to the Aneurysm and AVM foundation (TAAF).
