STUART — Heather Coleman was homecoming queen. She was a competitive cheerleader and dancer at St. Lucie West Centennial High, too, and she ran track, mostly short distances and hurdles.

"I was that very outgoing girl growing up," said Coleman, 36. "I was just very social. I had no problems being social."

Coleman also was a sergeant in the Army and spent 19 months in Kirkuk, Iraq, as an ammunition specialist. She was deployed in 2004, three years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I was the first one out there because I had to take over the accountability of the ammunition and sign it over to my unit," she said. "Then I was the last person to leave because I had to sign it back over."

When she returned home, however, Coleman became depressed and anxious. She was always on guard.

"I wasn't who I was when I left," she said. "Certain things will remind me of when I was over there. ... Sometimes I have difficulty breathing, like I feel anxious all the time."

When she left the Army in 2008, Coleman was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute — a nonprofit organization that helps people understand, recover from and treat PTSD and other disorders — an estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic event, and up to 20 percent of them develop PTSD.

An estimated 1 in 10 women get PTSD at some time in their lives, according to the organization. Women also are more likely than men to be diagnosed with PTSD.

After years of struggling with symptoms of the disorder — which included anxiety, hostility and hyper-vigilance — Coleman was determined to feel better, so she laced up her shoes and start running again.

So far, it's the only thing that has helped her. On Sunday, she'll run her first 26.2-mile race, the Marathon of the Treasure Coast.

[ Scroll to the bottom of the story to see maps of the full and half-marathon routes. ]

"I just feel like when I am putting on my sneakers, that's 'me time,'" said Coleman, who now lives in Stuart. "I get to actually do something that I know that I don't have to worry about. I can just go and just try to relive the way I was when I was growing up. I loved the outdoors. I loved running.

"I try to remember the good things prior to going into the military."

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'Wait. I didn't sign up for that.'

After graduating high school in 2001, Coleman and a school friend joined the Army. Three weeks before basic training, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks crippled America.

"Wait. I didn't sign up for that," she said when she heard about the attacks.

After basic training, Coleman was sent to Fort Leonard Wood in the Missouri Ozarks and then to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama for training in her specialty.

Coleman missed paratrooper training because of a broken hip, and eventually landed at her permanent duty station, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

She deployed to Iraq about 18 months later in 2004.

As an ammunition specialist, Coleman drove in a convoy, delivering ammunition to the front lines. A few of the convoys were hit by IEDs.

"We had a lot of injured battle buddies," she said. "It was tough. It was tough."

In Kirkuk, Coleman had to stay vigilant, even at night.

"(The terrorists) thought that everyone was off guard," she said. "It's dark, they could hide. That's when they would fire into our compound."

One night, Coleman remembers, the ammunition bunker was hit.

"It was like Fourth of July, in full effect," she said. "All of the captured ammo and weapons that we had, all of our ammunition, it was just, boom, boom.

"We confiscated from them these huge bombs you drop out of an airplane," she added. "Those were so loud."

[ This video shows a 2004 attack on an ammunition bunker in Kirkuk, Iraq. ]

Because of her time in the Iraq War, loud noises and fireworks are triggers for Coleman.

"When I first returned home, a car backfired," she said. "I was on the Roosevelt Bridge. I just had a panic attack. I told my mom, I said, 'I think I'm having a heart attack.' "

Her mother suggested she talk to someone at the VA.

"They've given me several counselings, different groups. I just get to the point where I feel like you can't relate to me ... They weren't there with me when I was going through the traumatic situations."

Medication wasn't an option for Coleman, either, at least long term.

"I didn't want to be popping pills 24/7," she added. "It's just not going to work for me."

A combination of therapy; medication; sleep; and a person's own actions, which include exercise and eating well, helps immensely for people who are suffering from anxiety or sadness, said Fran Sherman, a licensed psychotherapist based in Palm Beach County.

"Any kind of exercise increases endorphins, all the brain's feel-good chemicals," Sherman said. "(Exercise) also refocuses you. You're no longer thinking about what is making you feel anxious or sad. You're thinking about running, you're thinking about achieving.

"You're doing really good stuff for your brain," she added. "It's essential for people in the healing process."

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So, in 2013 — five years after leaving the military and struggling with symptoms of PTSD — Coleman started running again.

She and her best friend, Melissa Strauser, started running on Saturdays and have run a few half-marathons.

"I felt such a difference," said Coleman, who has two children, Nate, 16, and Tiana, 12. "I felt like it was helping.

"Honestly, the only thing I think about when I'm running is I feel free," she added. "I enjoy the different scenery, and I think about my children."

The calm, peaceful feelings she has when she runs find their way into her everyday life, too.

"Prior to running, I would let my issues affect my family life as well as my work life," said Coleman, director of business development for TrackitEZ, a cloud-based human resource and credentialing company in Juno Beach.

"I felt like I was an angry person. I couldn't see the positive in anything. Now, I take a step back and say, 'Everything is going to be OK. Don't automatically attack the situation.' I evaluate the situation and understand what's going on, especially with my children."

'I have someone who has my back'

Last year, Strauser convinced Coleman to train for another race.

Except Coleman thought she signed up for a half-marathon.

"Until I got (to Fleet Feet running shop) for day one training, I realized it was for a full marathon, and I thought, 'What the heck? Let's just do it.' "

Coleman and Strauser were placed in different pace groups, just what Coleman needed to motivate her to interact with other runners.

"It pulled me out of my shell," she said. "It forced me to socialize."

Still, Coleman is always on guard.

"I think that that's why I like having Jon, specifically, with me," she said. "I almost feel like I'm a soldier again and I have someone who has my back. I feel that with him."

Jon is Jon Blakeslee, Coleman's pace-group leader for her organized training group at Fleet Feet in Stuart. For the past 18 weeks, runners have been preparing for the Marathon of the Treasure Coast, which includes a full marathon, half marathon and a two- to four-person marathon relay. The races start at 6 a.m. Sunday.

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Blakeslee — who's trained hundreds of runners through Fleet Feet's program as well as with Team in Training, the largest charity endurance training program in the world — said trust is an integral part of training.

"After the 14-miler, (Coleman) said, 'I can't go any farther than this.' And I said, 'Just trust me,' " said Blakeslee, 60.

Week after week, Coleman went farther.

"They just have to believe," Blakeslee said. "Until you do (a marathon) and until you get through it, you don't get it. Trust the process. But they're there. They're ready. She's ready."

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Tammy Fuss, 52, of Port St. Lucie, trains with Coleman.

"We just keep each other going," she said. "We both have kids and we both work full-time jobs. We go out there, and we don't want to do it some days, but we just keep each other going. She pushes me, so it's been fun keeping up with her."

Coleman's goal for Sunday's marathon is just to cross the finish line.

"I am a very competitive person," she said. "I always do worry, since we've been training together, that I need to stay with the camaraderie of the group, but I also have my own competitive goals."

Mostly, she's excited for race day, but she's not scared.

"Fear? That's the last thing I think I feel, just for the simple fact that I've been through combat and I'm a bad ass," she said. "I can't wait to see my family and my kids at the finish line. That will be so rewarding."

For more information about PTSD, go to www.ptsd.com.va.gov or www.sidran.org.

What: Marathon of the Treasure Coast

Where: Memorial Park, 300 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart

When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday (packet pick-up and health expo); 6 a.m. Sunday (races)

Online: www.treasurecoastmarathon.com

[ Having trouble seeing the maps? Click here to open them in a new window. ]

Maureen Kenyon is TCPalm's trends reporter, keeping Treasure Coast residents updated on hot topics and happenings. Do you have a story to tell? Want to start a conversation? Send an email to maureen.kenyon@tcpalm.com, call 772-221-4249 or follow her on Twitter @_MaureenKenyon_.