THE BEATTY FAMILY ’ S JOURNEY TOWARDS COMPETING
of training while Victoria and Mark used training as a tool in their grieving process . For a couple of months , this was the plan , we were going to compete in the Ottawa Natural Classic in 2023 as a family . Before prep started , Victoria and her coach chose not to rush to the stage and take a much longer growth season . Mark and Connie chose to continue towards this goal . Family friend and trainer Jeremiah Elie helped them many times , coaching them along their prep journey to make sure they were on the right track toward the stage , helping them achieve this while being Ketogenic .
In the time between Victoria ’ s show and Mark & Connie ’ s show , a lot took place . We attended our first MADD victims conference , had our first annual blizzard fundraiser in honor of the girls who died in the car accident , had the first anniversary of Rebecca ’ s passing , had our second annual Mother ’ s Day tea in honor of Rebecca , Victoria got hired to work with Absolute Touch , and we spent a week in court for the preliminary hearing in regards to the car accident . Life did not slow down because of our grief or when prep started .
When the six weeks out point came and went without Connie having a flare-up , we were all ecstatic . The finish line was fast approaching and both Connie and Mark were feeling good . For both of them , the stage was the goal , as it was for Victoria . Connie got a custom suit from KHCustoms with colors representing loved ones that had passed . Connie chose purple for her daughter Rebecca , yellow for her Godmother , Gloria , and blue for her father-in-law , Jack . Both Connie ( age 51 ) and Mark ( age 53 ) worked very hard daily and got posing sessions with Mary Valid , who had also worked with Victoria . They both practiced daily , Connie practiced often with Victoria to help fine-tune and work through jitters between sessions with Mary . When show day came , they were ready to rock and over the moon to have made it to the finish line . Victoria was booked to work at the Ottawa Natural Classic show in the tanning room with Absolute Touch . This gave her the opportunity to be involved in their show day experience in a very unique way . Victoria got to tan them both and helped put those last final touches in place . On show day , their assistant coach for the day , Alexander Trent Forian , was ready to keep them both calm , well supported , and help them pump up before the stage . Mark competed in Men ’ s Physique and Connie competed in Figure . Both did amazing in prejudging and Victoria was on edge with each of them as they watched the other on stage . Connie showed up , just wanting to participate , but her competitive nature took over once she got on the stage . The finals turned out better than they all expected . Mark placed 1st in Men ’ s Physique 50 + and 4th in Men ’ s Physique 40 +. Connie placed 1st in Figure 45 +, 1st in Figure 35 +, and 3rd in Figure Open Class A . Both proved to themselves that they are amazing athletes and can achieve anything they put their minds to . The show was a huge success as they left feeling accomplished and incredibly proud of themselves and of each other . Now Connie can put her heels on the shelf next to her beautiful suit with pride and add their medals to their gym wall of achievement next to Victoria ’ s .
Two days after their competition , on June 19th , 2023 , Mark and Connie celebrated 30 years of marriage . Life can be so unpredictable and a lot can change in 5 years but one thing is for certain , Rebecca is up in Heaven bragging to all the other angels about how awesome of a family we are and