Senior Stories: Valerie, Pushing Past Barriers

We are kicking off our summer of Senior Stories with Valerie’s story! Valerie is a recent graduate from Legacy High School and has completed 5 marathons with SRLA. This June she received the SRLA scholarship and the Honda Power of Dreams Scholarship, which she will use to attend UCLA this fall.

Valerie and a teammate on marathon morning, getting ready to cross the start line.

Marathon day. Waking up at 2 AM to be at school by 4 AM to take a school bus to the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium is the beginning of marathon day. Adrenaline kicks in as a swarm of runners meet at the start line. So many runners we are sent in waves into the heart of Los Angeles running from the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium to Santa Monica Pier. At seventeen years of age, I have completed my 5 marathons.

Marathon day comes with the challenge of the wall. At mile twenty, runners are slammed into a virtual wall where their bodies can no longer physically carry them to finish; their mental strength must push them to complete the 26.2-mile marathon. To be a long-distance runner I continuously cultivate the strength of my mind to be able to push forward and get up after crashing into “the wall”.

The worst wall I have been struck by is my 2nd marathon, dehydrated my entire back and leg muscles cramped drastically, preventing me from standing straight, with 9.2 miles left to go I had to push through. There were moments I considered stopping to cry but I persisted even if it meant sobbing the entire way to the finish line. I was determined to finish because my passion for marathon running is stronger than temporary struggle. This is the beauty of marathon running, you push past barriers even if it may seem impossible, even if it appears easy to go to the paramedic’s and end the pain, your strength of mind will get you to the finish line.

“This is the beauty of marathon running, you push past barriers even if it may seem impossible... your strength of mind will get you to the finish line.”

Participating in Students Run LA and the Los Angeles Marathon has allowed me to experience the momentum I feel when I approach the finish line of a race, pushing myself to give everything I have within me is an approach I have learned to apply in life and educational dreams: always give everything you have so you can walk away knowing you gave your full potential. Through this life lesson, I have gained a positive mindset to pursue post-secondary education in Pre Business Economics despite obstacles in life so that one day I can accomplish my dream career to become a litigation lawyer.

You can help the next generation of students accomplish their dreams, just like Valerie, give at srla.org/donate.

Valerie with her teammates and leaders from Legacy High School showing off their Los Angeles Marathon finisher medals and t-shirts.