Tessa Monzelowsky, North Dakota International Ambassador 2021, and Running

 

Why running? Who actually likes to run for fun? These are the two most common questions I get from people when they hear I train multiple days a week to go run long-distance races.  Another question I have been asked over the last two years several times is, what is the purpose to all of this, what are you expecting to get from it? 

            Let me first answer the easy question, who actually runs for fun? The people who have discovered what running does for them, the ones who have figured out a stronger Why then a Why Not. Now, why running? Running has its obvious benefits to your physical health, you’ll lose weight, and gain some muscle. There are also the great cardiovascular benefits to help prevent being the 1 in 3 statistics for heart disease or stroke. But, for most the reason we run has a great deal to do with our mental and emotional health.  Running naturally produces the happy hormone dopamine. You will also find that by pushing some of the limits of your own body you are gaining more confidence. Now that you’re receiving these two positive reinforcements you’ll start to dip deeper into your own head and heart. Here’s where you start to find you are capable of handling the stress and obstacles life inevitably throws our way. You no longer can go for a run and try to lie to yourself about the realities you face. You will start to have more positive self-talk at this point, and you’ll start problem-solving the hard stuff. You will also find yourself digging into the deep parts of your psyche and finally handle some of that garbage you’ve been holding onto for far too long. With each of these steps into the mental and emotional parts of yourself, you discover how capable you are of doing really hard things. For many of us who stick with running, we start to understand how the external pain (yes it hurts to run long distances) is necessary to get rid of the garbage and stay on top of the new positive self we’ve created. To answer the questions of why keep training, what’s the purpose of all this? Simple, I’ve reached a point in my journey where I can set real tangible goals, I have a real place where I know I can escape when I need to, and I’m keeping my body healthy, so my quality of life lasts as long as my soul does. I’ve also discovered that you’re never too old to set a goal so big you’re scared of it. I would love to take the podium in a master’s division championship race.  I want to qualify for Boston, but even bigger qualify to run the Abbott World Marathon Majors! I don’t know what my journey will bring for certain, but I do know that I won’t give up. There’s always a new goal to set your sights on so you’ll learn to be humble with each successful milestone you hit, and you’ll definitely fall down (sometimes literally) and have to learn to persevere through the failure. Running is something you truly do for yourself. It’s just you and the path, the clock is the only real competition.  One of my coach’s favorite quotes is “fail to prepare and you prepare to fail.” I am the only one who is accountable for what I accomplish, no one can do it for me, and no one can take away what the work does for me.

         There are many other parts that go into a running journey, and I will be sharing those other parts as the year moves forward. I hope to inspire others with my own journey and hope to see and hear how running has helped others become the best version of themselves.