Click here to see Patti Bennett’s thoughts on how the transformation went and how she sees her “new” self.

It wasn’t the “inner” Patti Bennett that was lacking. The wife and mother of two has a full life—she cares for an aging mother in a nursing home, is active politically, volunteers at church, and works fulltime at the nonprofit she cofounded, Colorado Youth at Risk. But the outer, that was another story.

5280 January 2008
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A natural beauty, Patti is a Colorado girl. She spent last year training for her first triathlon. She’s not afraid a fleece hat will screw up her hair. And she doesn’t believe in shoes with heels. Patti runs, and not just in the predawn quiet of her neighborhood, but from one aspect of her life to the next: mother, wife, boss, athlete, caregiver, activist, nonprofit crusader. Somewhere along the way, the need for comfort while on the move crept in.