THROOP, Pa. — Along Dunmore Street in Throop is Lynn Dzeilak's oasis.
"We're inside the Now & Zen Wellness Center; this is my place for massage therapy, personal training, running coaching, and just chilling."
Until several years ago, this was a dream she didn't know she had.
"I would have laughed," Lynn said. "There is just no way I would have believed that."
That's because, several years ago, Lynn was not a picture of wellness. A health scare in 2015 changed her path.
"At the time, I was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, and they were Swisher Sweets cigars. I was just making poor life choices and not being mindful of what I was doing with my life. And I decided I needed to quit smoking, so with that came the need for running."
That was eight years ago, and Lynn hasn't stopped running. She started small and worked her way up to marathons. She will run her fifth marathon this fall as a member of Team Allied Services. She's running in honor of her sister-in-law Heather, who participates in Allied Services' vocational workshop in Scranton.
As she prepares to run 26.2 miles, she's helping other women who have never run before. She's been training these women to run their first 5K. They'll do that in a few weeks to support Team Allied Services at the 5K and All-Abilities Walk in Scranton.
Jaime Calianno is one of Lynn's clients. She says finding this group has been a dream come true.
"I generally like to isolate, and by joining this group and meeting the other women and meeting Lynn has really got me looking forward to getting up in the morning and going out with them."
And that's exactly what Lynn was hoping for
"Seeing the faith and confidence grow in these wonderful women who decided to do this 5K training, it just brings me joy beyond measure," Lynn said. "It's truly my purpose in life."
The dream she didn't know she had.