Montezuma women build relationships through running

MONTEZUMA — “It was exciting and kind of nerve-wracking,” said Holli Cushman, of Montezuma, about finishing her first half marathon.

It helped that Cushman wasn’t alone in the venture.

Joining her were friends, seasoned runners and Montezuma teachers, Ashley Rief, Megan Van Zante and Janel Burgess.

The four ladies participated in the IMT half marathon in Des Moines Sunday, Oct. 19.

Cushman finished in a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, while Burgess had a time of 2.27 in the race. Rief finished in 2.22, and Van Zante had the fastest time, 1 hour. 54 minutes.

There were more than 8,000 runners who competed in the IMT event, which included a full-marathon (26.2 miles), a half-marathon (13.1 miles), a 10K (6.2 miles) and a 5K (3.1 miles).

Cushman said she’s been running long distances for three years with her sights set on a half marathon.

Before the IMT race, the longest race Cushman had competed in was a 5K. She had, however, run half marathons twice this year while training.

“When I was in high school years ago, I ran the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes,” she said with a chuckle.

Cushman said the experience of running the race with her friends was wonderful. Ashley, Megan and Janel were very encouraging and very positive, she said.

“We rode up together in Janel’s car, and we had positive conversations and listened to Christian music in the background,” said Cushman.

It was very cold when the women arrived at the race site, and there was a wait before they actually started running, Cushman said.

“Runners were released based on their projected time,” Cushman said. “Megan left first followed by Ashley, myself and Janel.”

This was the 10th half marathon that Rief has run.

“I run a half-marathon every October in memory of my mom, Dixie, and my Aunt Shelley,” said Reif.

“My mom died of breast cancer in October 2011, and my Aunt Shelley is a 14-year cancer survivor. So every October, I either run the IMT in Des Moines or I run from my house in Montezuma to my dad's house in Gibson, which is 13-miles away — if you take the back roads.”

Reif has also run a half marathon in Colorado and many 5Ks through the years.

Reif uses an app called Runna, to train for the IMT. It creates a personalized training plan for the race.

“It can be as strenuous or relaxed as you'd like,” Reif said.

It’s the same running app that Cushman used to train for the half marathon.

Reif said she and Janel have run the IMT together a few times. “She asked me if I would like to run the race again this year and I said, yes.”

“She already had Megan on board, and I asked Holli if she'd like to join because we did the Murph Challenge together Memorial Day weekend,” said Reif. “We had asked a few others to join us, too, but unfortunately, due to schedules and injuries, they couldn't join us this year.”

This was the second half marathon for Van Zante this year. She competed in the Des Moines Half Marathon in May.

“I have done quite a few 5Ks throughout my lifetime as I grew up running cross-country for Lynnville-Sully,” said Van Zante.

In preparing for the IMT Half Marathon, Van Zante started running and lifting over the summer months, she said.

“I ran longer distances at harder paces to try and meet my goal that I set for myself for this race,” said Van Zante. “I also bought some new shoes because the last race I got terrible blisters from wearing too small of shoes and bad socks.”

Van Zante said it was a great experience and she was able to meet the goal she had set for herself.

“I wanted to run under two hours, which required about a nine-minute mile pace,” noted Van Zante. “I beat my goal by just more than five minutes and averaged around an 8:45-mile pace, which I was very happy about.

“I also enjoyed the race atmosphere, as there were a lot more runners and spectators compared to my last race. Although it was chilly at the start line, the weather was amazing for running,” said Van Zante.

“Honestly, the people are what makes it so wonderful,” said Reif. “The IMT is known for being super friendly and supportive. I mean, there were more than 8,000 people that registered for the run. That is insane.”

Before the race, “Burgess asked us what our main goal or objective was in the race, and I stated mine was to be supportive to the other runners around me,” said Reif.

That outlook on life helped her finish the race after she lost feeling in her toes at mile three and stopped after mile five.

“I honestly thought I was going to have to stop and retie my shoes in a different way but that scared me because then was I going to have the mindset/momentum to keep going?” asked Reif.

“I had my earbuds in and suddenly I felt someone grab my elbow. I turned and it was a woman who said, ‘We can do this, I'm here with you. I'm Brittney.’”

“I started running with her, and we talked about our families, our jobs, our training.” said Reif.

“Throughout the rest of the race, we were sometimes together and other times we'd separate,” Reif said. “I would encourage other people who were walking or slowing down later on in the race, like Brittney had for me.

“After I finished and grabbed my water, I turned and saw Brittney was finishing. I cheered her on to the finish line, and we took a Snap together, gave each other a hug, and went about our ways,” said Reif. “Her little gesture helped me in the biggest way.”

This was Burgess’ fourth half marathon.

“Honestly there were many challenges I had to overcome to run, and I did not prepare like I have in my past races,” said Burgess. “I’m so thankful my body held up because the highest mile I ran in one day was six prior to the race.”

Burgess said running with her friends and co-workers was a great experience.

“Well, it is crazy,” she said. “We meet each other at the finish line, but as the oldest one who ran, they greeted me as I came through the shoot. What we do, is we encourage each other, train and show up on ‘game’ day.

“For me, the main reason I run these races is to understand how our basketball team feels when they are hitting the wall during the season,” said Burgess. “I want to connect with them, knowing a long distance in anything is not easy.

“I want to remember that life is not easy and our mentality along difficult challenges can get us through it, but we have to rely on each other,” said Burgess.

When asked what advice she would offer someone wanting to run a long-distance race, Van Zante said to start training earlier than you think you might need to.

“Also, running at this distance is more about training your mind than your body,” said Van Zante. “Telling yourself that you can push through and accomplish hard things got me through this experience compared to the number of miles I ran.”

Reif said training isn’t just physical, it’s a mindset as well.

“A mile is a mile. Whether it's a 6-, 9-, or 12-minute mile, it's still a mile,” Reif said. “No judgment, whatsoever — movement is movement.

“But, prepare your mindset as well,” said Reif, “because it's going to hurt. You'll be in pain, and you just want it to be over. But when it's all done, most runners want to do it again because you block out the pain and are fulfilled by what you've accomplished.”

“It is really neat to see all the people who support the runners,” said Cushman. “They bring positive and funny signs, and they ring cow bells. It makes the time go so much faster having all that support. I think all four of us are grateful for the opportunity to have good health to run.”

“I know 13.1 miles seems really far, but I think anyone can accomplish it, and it is such an amazing feeling to be able to be a part of the small percentage of people who have done one,” said Van Zante.

“I'm incredibly grateful to have done this with friends,” said Reif. “It makes it more memorable and it was so much fun.”