Senior Stories: Amy, Reaching New Limits

Amy had some doubts about her running abilities when she first joined SRLA. The comparison she made with her peers didn’t allow her to have fun. However, thanks to the help of her teammates and their positive encouragement, she didn’t quit. Amy changed her mindset and became happier and more confident. She stopped overthinking and comparing herself to others which allowed her to successfully run the LA Marathon. Amy is an SRLA scholarship recipient and will attend UC Santa Cruz in the fall and hopes to major in Psychology.

From the very beginning of my journey in SRLA I had a lot of doubts about my success in running. I was one of the few that recently joined the team and everyone else has a lot of experience with running prior to this year. I would always compare my time with others and for the first couple of months it would really start to bum me out. Running was supposed to be fun, but the constant comparison and doubt I had didn’t motivate me to want to keep going. Thankfully with the help of my friends and their positive encouragement I was able to keep pushing and once I got my own rhythm down it didn’t feel so bad as it did before. I’ll never forget my first 18 mile run, being able to finally cross that finish line was such an amazing feeling. At that moment it was the most I had ever ran and before, I would’ve never thought that I would be able to complete such a huge milestone. I was in awe that I did it and felt proud that I was able to condition my body into completing the impossible.

Amy with her SRLA team.

During that particular run I had a lot of time to be able to reflect on my past races and practices I had to go through to lead me up to this point. I pointed out to myself that what was preventing me from being successful in the beginning was the headspace I was in. I was happier now and more confident with my capabilities, I started to believe in myself more. Through SRLA I know now that with the right mindset I am able to push myself into reaching new limits. It’s you against you in the running world, so why would you stand in front of yourself when it comes to being successful. Once the run was over I have never gone back to ever overthinking anything I could do, it was a huge boulder to overcome and because of SRLA and the people I surrounded myself with, both helped me push to overcome the challenge of distrust with myself.

Rapid Fire!
My favorite race has been…
The 18 mile Friendship run, my energy was high through most of the run and I loved running on top of the bridge.

Something you can't run without…
Definitely my AirPods, without music the run just isn’t as fun.

A word to describe SRLA…
Empowering. (The explanation is in the strength, courage, resilience, experience, and stories many of my fellow SRLA runners have made and it is all thanks to SRLA.)

A special SRLA memory was when…
Getting to wake up at 4 in the morning for races with friends. Even though most of us were freezing, it was always a good time and we shared a lot of laughs.

Favorite post/pre run snack…

My favorite pre-run snack is a banana and my post-run snack is a chewy granola bar.

Someone/something that inspires you to run…
Something that inspires me to keep running is knowing how good the last mile feels. When reaching the end of the run, I feel so accomplished and proud of myself for pushing through. Also the fact that it helps me stay fit is a plus.

YOU CAN HELP STUDENTS REACH NEW LIMITS!

Learn more about our programs to get involved. Donate, volunteer, or sponsor our students to make a difference with SRLA.