Meditation in Motion

Moved by these stories, Bartocci found a calling: To coach people on how they can combine fitness and spirituality in a way that improves both. She wrote a book, Meditation in Motion, and she speaks to groups on the topic.

Exercise and meditation, each by itself, can inspire people to reach goals, to find more in themselves than they knew they had, Bartocci said, and combining the two multiplies the effects. . . .

Bartocci discovered long-distance cycling about a decade ago, and her achievements have sometimes surprised her. On a weeklong, 500-mile organized ride across Iowa, she persevered through 94-degree heat and 30-mph headwinds to complete the day's 76 miles, even though a third of the riders gave up that day. She was on her bike for 12 hours. Veterans of the ride told her it was the toughest day they'd ever endured.

"There is always so much more in us than we are aware of," she said. "And there's a spiritual dimension to that."