{"id":20047,"date":"2024-04-09T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/alumni\/?p=20047"},"modified":"2025-11-07T20:59:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:59:18","slug":"30-seconds-with-an-alum-the-mother-running-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/alumni\/news\/2024\/04\/09\/30-seconds-with-an-alum-the-mother-running-with-purpose","title":{"rendered":"30 seconds with an alum: Running with purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While attending UW Bothell, alumna Grace Martinez, Interdisciplinary Studies \u201904, found purpose in her unique experience as both a student and a mother. She connected with other women who shared similar experiences of motherhood, deepening her desire to create a community of like-minded and passionate individuals. Now based in Everett, Martinez has expanded her love of running beyond herself, inspiring over 15,000 women who also find joy in the art of running as the owner of run2befit<\/a> and founder of the PNW Ladies Running Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was your first job?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling snow cones at a flea market in California. It\u2019s also where I met my husband on the last day of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What got you interested in running?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I moved to Washington State, I wasn\u2019t familiar with some of the extracurricular activities here such as hiking, biking and running. I was really excited that I could do a race and then get a medal and some swag \u2014 and have a cheering squad at the end of the race just for running. I thought that was pretty neat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a most memorable race?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always think back to my first half-marathon in Seattle with my husband. I had no clue how hilly Seattle was. I lost a toenail! My brother started to get worried because we were taking so long. It wasn\u2019t because we were struggling. It was because we were more like tourists looking at all the places around Seattle. That changed my view of running as an adult and doing it for pleasure from being a kid and doing it because I had to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any race traditions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it’s a longer distance, I always think about my last five or so miles more than anything. The last five are always more of a mental game for me. So, I think about those five miles, and I try to dedicate each mile to somebody else. I think about all the things that person would be telling me. It helps keep the focus on something other than the physical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brother is always my last mile. Always. My brother has had a couple of mental health disorders. He\u2019s had a difficult life. I think about that during the last mile and how it’s no comparison to real life. I can get through it. There are times that I cross that finish line with tears in my eyes because I always think of my brother in that last mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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