Senior Stories: Lesly, Training for Mental and Physical Strength

Lesly at her graduation from Animo Pat Brown. She will attend UC Irvine!

Lesly is an SRLA Scholarship Recipient! She is a graduate from Animo Pat Brown. Despite having asthma, Lesly trained hard to be able to reach the finish line for multiple races. SRLA allowed her to stay mentally and physically healthy! She will be attending UC Irvine to study Sociology to become a Social Worker.

I joined SRLA my sophomore year of high school. I honestly didn't think I would have made it this far because I have asthma. My asthma has never been out of hand but without training my breathing wouldn't be as good. My school offered SRLA freshmen year but I was intimidated by all the guys there. There were little to no girls on the team. Finally, I had decided to join for my sophomore year despite being one of the few girls. I have always loved running and I wanted to become better at it. I found it fascinating how the ultimate goal was to be able to run the LA Marathon. Through the marathon I was able to see all of LA.

Lesly and her teammates before running the 2022 LA Marathon.

“SRLA has provided me with an ability to stay healthy and fit.”

I have learned a lot being a SRLA runner. I have learned that I am more capable than I believe I am. I used to really doubt myself but after running my first marathon in 2020 it was a really emotional experience and I will forever be thankful for my choice to join SRLA. Throughout the course of my SRLA journey I've had lots of incredible experiences because I put in the hard work.

My junior year was the hardest SRLA season. Since the pandemic had hit, the world was in complete chaos. Everything we loved had to be stopped because of social distancing. Races were changed virtually, which meant training was all done independently; it was harder. I personally ran the 2021 marathon alone at the park. It was a new experience. It wasn't the same. It was challenging not being able to see all those smiles on faces when I crossed the finish line. SRLA has provided me with an ability to stay healthy and fit and my mental health is in such a good place. Within five years I will be able to say I had such a pleasant high school experience. I regret nothing! 

Rapid Fire!
My favorite race would be..
The 30k in 2019, I believe it was my first 30k. I had heard a lot of stories in it being the worst race but I really enjoyed it. The view was amazing and I got to challenge myself a lot!

What keeps me running is…
The ability to know I am stronger than I believe. In 2020, when I ran my first marathon I realized I can accomplish a lot of things and I should never underestimate myself. Another factor would be the matter of staying in good shape physically and mentally.

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