Meet Liz Ferro

We were lucky to catch up with Liz Ferro recently and have shared our conversation below.

Liz , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

In my memoir, Finish Line Feeling, I talk about finding my purpose in life, and sharing it with others. It’s a compelling story of my journey from foster child and sexual abuse survivor to founder of the nationally recognized organization, Girls With Sole. With brutal honesty, I wrote about my experiences of trauma, and how swimming, biking, and running pulled me through the toughest times of my life, and ultimately unveiled my purpose in life, as they always reminded me of my own strength and worth.
I wrote about the challenges I have endured with humor and heart, always looking for the meaning in each and every experience.

The inspiring “Cinderella story”- which includes my being named as an honoree for Traditional Home Magazine’s Classic Woman Award – inspires all readers, no matter their story or goals.
“Like a traveler on a long and tiresome journey, the finish line beckons you with the rewards and riches that come from achieving your goal,” I wrote. “The warm beauty of the finish line after a race gives you the feeling of home, and makes all the efforts of getting there worthwhile.”
Gritty, yet often humorously told, my story proves that with resiliency, anyone can be rewarded with the euphoria that I refer to as the “finish line feeling’ and ultimately gave me my purpose in life.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Liz Ferro and I am the author of three works of nonfiction, two works of fiction, and the founder of the nonprofit, Girls With Sole.
Because my books and the nonprofit are intertwined, I travel the world to spread the word, conduct speaking engagements, and sell books, while at home, I gift the books to the girls in my programs, and to women in need as well.
Whether fiction or nonfiction, my story and my writing revolves around using your passion to find your purpose, and to use your POWER to keep moving forward in all areas of your life. POWER is an acronym we use to describe the Girls With Sole POWER Principles, which are: Perseverance, Optimism, Wisdom, Energy, and Resilience. I love sharing my adventure, misadventures, shenanigans and life lessons with others, and helping them recognize their own abilities to find light in the darkness.
I truly feel the best way to describe what I do, and stay true to fusing my nonprofit and my books, I will continue to answer these questions with excerpts from my books. The following is the prologue from the second edition of Finish Line Feeling, which has been published by Library Tales Publishing in New York, NY and was a finalist for The Montaigne Medal from The Eric Hoffer Book Award.
PROLOGUE
I remember the suitcase so vividly and clearly, as if I had packed it yesterday. It had an ice blue and electric pink ‘70’s paisley pattern on its soft cardboard casing. The zipper always got stuck and the plastic edges in the front that helped to guide the zipper were breaking down, but I loved that suitcase. Although it was very small, it seemed big enough to fit all the necessities of a young world traveler such as myself.
I don’t remember the exact reason I had decided to leave that night, but I do recall feeling as if it was what I needed to do and that there was no sense in putting of the inevitable.
I was determined to pack it up, pack it in, and get going before someone could tell me that I had to leave. Rejection is never a good feeling, but the sting is lessened when it is experienced on your own terms. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the beginning of a cycle that would continue in my life for many years to come. This would be my approach and “M.O.” for the majority of my future relationships: leave them-before they leave me.
In many different ways, and on a multitude of levels, my life has revolved around running. For a time, all I could do was try to run away. Then I ran into trouble. As time passed with endurance and tenacity, I ran with the idea of helping girls in need and haven’t stopped since. I’m not a psychiatrist; psychologist; social worker; or a miracle worker. But I am a rape survivor; athlete; mom; wife; author; and the CEO and Founder of the non-profit organization called Girls With Sole, which I started in August 2009. It’s my life’s mission to utilize the proven power of fitness and sports combined with a uniquely adaptable curriculum of self-esteem building activities and art projects to instill confidence, self-esteem, physical strength, teamwork, and a passion for success in the lives of girls who are at-risk or have experienced abuse of any kind.
THE GIRLS WITH SOLE CREED

We’re Girls With Sole and we’re on the move
We’re strong and proud you can’t stop our groove
We know who we are and who we want to be
We sail through life with resiliency
At Girls With Sole we set goals and believe
If we keep lacing up we will always achieve
Since we begin every single program session with our Girls With Sole Creed, I felt the only appropriate way to begin the Second Edition of Finish Line Feeling would be with the Creed.
The Girls With Sole Creed is what brings us together as one when we begin a session. We are all different, and on vastly unique life journeys, but at that moment – and for that hour – we are bound together by the belief that we can achieve anything, and that by Lacing Up and practicing the pinnacle POWER Principles of Resilience, Optimism, Wisdom, Energy and Resilience, we can sail through life.
Oh, did I mention, I’m also not a sailor? Fortunately you don’t have to be one to know that sailing isn’t always done on smooth waters, or without unexpected obstacles, but with resilience, you can learn to navigate and continue moving forward to calmer waters, where you just may see the silver heat of sunshine piercing through the edge of the clouds.
It isn’t always going to be easy. Sailing takes a lot of hard work, but you’re worth it and the adventure of sailing through life, much like the Finish Line Feeling, is exhilarating and empowering beyond measure.
“I’m not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship”
~Louisa May Alcott
I’ve done 5 Ironman Triathlons (Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles) and have completed a 26.2 marathon in all 50 States of America (that’s 1,310 miles) and on the Great Wall of China to raise awareness and funds for Girls With Sole. To date I have completed more than 76 marathons, and countless triathlons, but those numbers are always climbing because I have Sole POWER. By the time you’re reading this book (Hey, what took you so long, anyway?) I may have done 100 marathons and perhaps I have run one on every continent. Nothing is impossible, and the only way to grow is by challenging ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I take great joy in leading the girls I serve by example and showing them the POWER of the Finish Line Feeling, so they too can keep moving forward, and learn to Lace Up for a Lifetime of Achievement.
This is my life’s story, and the story of how Girls With Sole came to be, which is to say, it spawned organically from my own life experiences.
The book is a raw and honest memoir of how I conquered the wrongs in my life by using unwavering perseverance, athleticism, and spirit. In the book I examine the internal struggles of growing up female and try to express that both my toils and my triumphs are immense, making the story relatable to not only every woman, but also, every human.
As part of Girls With Sole programming, we proudly give a copy of Finish Line Feeling to each girl in the program who is age 13 and over, and ready to “Lace Up for a Lifetime of Achievement.” We also give each participant a copy of my second book, Girls With Sole: A Girl Power Guide To Unleashing Your Inner Superhero.
In our program curriculum there are guided activities that revolve around both books and the Girls With Sole Creed. The books, the organization, and my running endeavors are an all-encompassing, intertwined entity. Each separate thing represents and supports the other. Response from the teens (and adults) who have read both Finish Line Feeling and Girls With Sole:A Girl Power Guide To Unleashing Your Inner Superhero has been beyond incredible. Both of the books, and the organization, provide young women with the opportunity to give voice to their own story, find their own strength, and use their resilience to keep moving forward.
Normally, Girls With Sole programming is twelve weeks in duration. In a rare instance, I set up a six-week program with a high school on Cleveland, Ohio’s Eastside. The school was thrilled to bring Girls With Sole programs to the group of girls they had identified to participate, but they decided to only do six sessions because they felt the girls would lose interest and wouldn’t show up for a twelve-week, once per week, hour and a half program. By the third week I had witnessed a huge shift in the girls’ attitudes towards me, Girls With Sole, and even each other. I could actually see the light behind their eyes shine a bit brighter, they seemed less anxious, and they even asked me if they could continue to participate in Girls With Sole for the entire school year! They took ownership of it and embraced the power of Lacing Up, as well as, having someone believe in them, so they could believe in themselves.
By the fifth week, the girls received their running shoes, sports bras, and their copies of Finish Line Feeling, along with the program curriculum. (I hadn’t written my second book at that time, or they would have received one of those as well.) Receiving Finish Line Feeling ended up being quite moving for them because it made my story “real” in their eyes. They were so impressed that I actually wrote it and that they could share in my journey, so they asked me to tell them how I went about it all. A long conversation had been prompted.
I told the girls to never let someone who laughs at their dreams deter them from trying to achieve their goals. If a person puts your dream down, or tells you it will fail, it’s most likely because they feel bad about themselves or they haven’t accomplished their own goals. I was told Girls With Sole would fail. I was told not to bother trying to get my book published. People said I was “nobody” and I didn’t have an agent- and it’s almost impossible to do.
I’m happy I didn’t listen to those people. I listened to my heart – and it told me that if I helped one person with Girls With Sole, or the book, I have succeeded. The desire to want to help people with my story outweighed the negative chatter. Since I had been called directionless, crazy and a lost cause for a good portion of my life. I was used to people not believing in me, so I went for it. I told them that giving voice to their stories is empowering for them, and that it can also empower others. You never know who you might touch or inspire.
One by one the girls stood and shared their stories. I didn’t ask them to do it; they asked me if they could. Tears were shed and hugs were given as these beautiful, strong and resilient girls spoke of homelessness, parents who have been incarcerated, human trafficking, domestic violence, rape, parents with alcohol or substance abuse problems, and physical and emotional abuse.
This may be the understatement of the century – but I’m truly honored to have the chance to
work with and to know these amazing kids.
It is currently 2021. Eleven years, three published books, and more than 1500 program participants later, I am incredibly proud and happy about the direction Girls With Sole continues to move in. That direction is always forward.
I’m also deeply humbled and extremely proud of this Second Edition of Finish Line Feeling, because it further exemplifies the POWER of Girls With Sole and believing in yourself. Just like me and my story, the organization, and the girls we serve, this book too is always evolving, and becoming the best version of itself-regardless of any naysayers.
It takes POWER to keep moving forward, and we all have it within us.
The Finish Line isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of what’s possible.
Other very exciting happenings include the new release of my book, Letting Frogs Go, which came out in July of 2024. In Spring of 2025, an awesome second edition of my book Girls With Sole- A Girl Power Guide To Unleashing Your Inner Superhero will be released and there has been discussion of a screenplay for my book, Chameleon Girl.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

To answer this question, I have included the Introduction from my book Girls With Sole-A Girl Power Guide To Unleashing Your Inner Superhero:
I’m the kind of person who loves workbooks. Something about them makes me feel like my inner child can come out to play in a safe space, while creating an
at-a-glance treasury of memories I can flip through and
enjoy for years to come.
I do realize that not everyone shares my zest and zeal for workbooks – or even workouts, for that matter. They are heavy words – words we feel we need a strength we don’t already possess in order to mess with.

What if the words ‘workbook’ and ‘workout’ didn’t have the word ‘work’ in them? What if we changed our perspective about making inner changes or changes in our health (mind, body and soul), by eliminating the work and therefore no longer viewing the process as painful or difficult? Maybe instead we could look at it like a party or an adventure – or even a rock concert. Sure, all of these things can come with their own set of challenges, efforts, discomforts or difficulties… but because they kick ass, and are fun, we consider them to be worth it! Well, I know for a fact that you’re worth it and kick ass – and I’m betting you know you are as well, or you wouldn’t have gotten this far on your adventure. (See how awesome this is when you look at it the right way?)
When I think about rock – or rock and roll music – a word that comes to mind is revolution. Revolution has more than one meaning, but I like to think of it as a huge change in thinking and behavior. For instance, rock music changed the world and the way people viewed music -so it was a major revolution. So if a revolution is a huge change in thinking and behavior – I’d like every one of us to think of ourselves as a one-woman revolution.
We can change the way the world and society views us as women and as female athletes, but more importantly, how we view ourselves.
By using our strength and fitness (mentally, emotionally and physically) we can expand opportunities for ourselves and others and rock out our lives, no matter what obstacles we may face.
The key is focusing on our abilities, finding something we’re passionate about, gaining confidence from it, and letting that confidence spill into all the other areas of our lives. This isn’t always easy to do. It takes hard work and courage to uncover our true rock-star potential. I would dare to say it can even be scary to delve into the dive bar corners of our own mind. We want the world to see us as a Ritz Carlton – but often in our own minds we feel more like a Motel 6.
I think it often boils down to three things: challenge, passion and change. Challenging ourselves both mentally and physically (as well as challenges or trauma we experience in our lives) is key to becoming a one-woman revolution. We need to get good and uncomfortable in order to grow and change. This will also often lead to discovering our passions. Finding what makes your soul sing and chasing your passions will determine the necessary changes needed to actually reach your goals and unleash your badass superpowers. This may mean changing the way you currently do things, the people you surround yourself with and the way you speak to yourself in your own head.

So, three very basic – but not exactly simple – things can be the difference between you metaphorically head- lining a local county rib burn-off festival or selling out the Madison Square Garden of your life – and they are challenge, passion, and change.

A one-woman revolution shows up every day with two things: attitude and effort. As we all know, sometimes it’s our attitudes that need a little effort – but we move forward relentlessly.

It was believed by many for the majority of my life that I was a lost cause. Foster care, adoption, and childhood sexual abuse led to self-destructive behaviors for quite a while. So often I wanted someone to save me. It was honestly in discovering how fitness and wellness helped me tap into the challenge, passion and change that I mentioned above, that I realized I needed to be my own hero, and save myself by becoming my own one-woman revolution.

A one-woman revolution doesn’t need anyone to save her. She saves herself. (Capes optional.)

If it weren’t for swimming, biking and running – I wouldn’t be here to tell you that. Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be here at all. I should be in jail, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or even dead. Everything good in my life is connected in some way to running and fitness. Everything.
It was in challenging my body, setting big goals in my mind, and passionately going after them that I got stronger emotionally, built self-esteem, and learned that I had what I needed inside of me to recognize and reclaim my power and realize how much I rocked.

This is exactly what Girls With Sole does for the girls we serve. My non-profit, Girls With Sole, developed organically from my personal experiences, and now serves as a way to expand opportunities for girls in our programs to realize how much they rock and to Lace Up for a Life- time of Achievement. We believe in them so that they may believe in themselves.

So this book is about change. It’s not about changing who you are – but instead – making sure you are the best possible version of yourself, and giving yourself permission to unleash your inner superhero. It’s about develop- ing and growing, and being honest with yourself about who you are and who you want to be.

When I run, every step I take changes me. The same is true for people who lift weights, circuit train, dance, swim, ride, walk, box, cross-fit or do yoga. You are transformed into a different person with every stride, set, or pose. The beautiful part about these adventures, parties and rock concerts (all of these create joy, sweat and a sense of well-being) is that you’re never exactly the same person you were when you started them – as when you complete them – because your inner self is renewed, reinvented and rejuvenated. Maybe you feel high…like you climbed a mountain (adventurer), danced with your crush (party) or kicked ass and kick-started your mojo with an energy that feels like you could rock out for hours (rock concert).

So, let the adventurer, the rock star and the rebel hero inside of you come out to play and create your own style of health and happiness. It’s not work. It’s adventure, en- ergy, change, development and growth – and you deserve it. It’s about time the world recognized what we already know at Girls With Sole — which is: girls, women and female athletes ROCK!
The rewards of fitness and wellness can be all yours— and just as no one can earn them for you—no one can take them away from you once you achieve them. Accomplishing something you didn’t think you could can bring an enormous sense of power and peace. When you find your power and your peace, you’ll find your freedom. Nothin’ rocks harder than that, dude.
By answering some thought-provoking questions, moving your body, and completing self-awareness building activities – you will soon see how important it is to focus on the three crucial aspects of mind, body and soul to become a one-woman revolution, as well as uncover and recognize the super rock star you truly are.

“(As girls,) we don’t celebrate enough of our successes. On the soccer field, the basketball court, or even in the classroom, celebrate all your successes no matter how big or small.” ~ Mia Hamm

This is your One-woman Revolution Workbook and inspiration source all in one! The best part about it is, it’s all about YOU… so it can’t ever be wrong. (How often in life can you say that!?)

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Make your own victories. Make your own mistakes.” ~ Joan Jett

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I would love to collaborate with organizations, corporations, or individuals who want to share my books and/or speaking engagements with others.

Like many other organizations, COVID changed how we are able to conduct our programs and outreach.
Sharing my books with women and girls – or anyone in need of inspiration and motivation – is the most concise and impactful way to help the largest amount of people. This can be done through workshops, book clubs, corporate organizations, etc. and I would love to be a partner and collaborator to make this happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://girlswithsole.org
• Instagram: lizferroauthor
• Facebook: Liz Ferro Author

Image Credits

no one to credit I have permission