Senior Stories: Adrian, A Promise To Keep
Adrian is an SRLA runner from Synergy Quantum Angelou and is a 4 year LA Marathon finisher. Adrian was awarded an Honda Power of Dreams scholarship which will support his academic journey at University of California, San Diego as an Mechanic Engineer major.
Adrian holding his 4 LA Marathon medals at his high school graduation.
When I finished my first marathon, I thought it was impossible. I never saw myself as someone who would be able to run. However; once I finished, I already planned to run more. My journey at SRLA started because one of my friends told me to join. Little did I know I was about to begin my own marathon of life. I didn't have good pace because I was more a sprinter. Figuring out how to pace myself is still a current struggle, but I see it as a metaphor, learning to take things slow instead of rushing through. The second time I finished the LA marathon, it was during the height of the pandemic which made it hard to keep myself accountable with training. My running group and I would run by Dockweiler Beach. The motivation I once had for running started to die down because of the virtual runs.
“Seeing all those people support strangers like me really motivated me to continue to run. The idea of supporting someone you don’t know was such a powerful concept to me.”
However, I didn’t let that stop me. I had some friends who ran with me that year, so we ended up carrying each other to the finish line because it was cold at the beach. I remember how freezing it was because my running group and I were already warmed up. During my the third marathon, I was able to run it in the fastest record I had ever ran. I hit five hours and 15 minutes during that marathon. In comparison with my freshman year, I did about six hours. During my last year as a senior, I really surprised myself because I managed to get five hours and 15 minutes. I finally beat my all time running record.
Adrian (second to right) with his family after his graduation.
As a graduated senior, I would tell my younger self is to take more chances and to go for it. I always try my best to encourage anyone I know to apply and be active in more school clubs and programs. Being the older sibling from my family, my little sister is going to be a freshman so I often see myself when I see her. I encouraged her to join SRLA like me so she would be able to experience an amazing community like I did. One of the many experiences I learned was to be more consistent with my own health. At first I thought it was annoying waking up early but after meeting with my friends, practices would be so fun.
Another challenge that came with training was the academic side of it. I had to take up tutoring because it was really tough for me waking up early for half of the school year. Learning to become resilience in the face of early mornings and having my friends there aided me to continue to show up for practice. I also met more people outside of my school which I have become really great friends with. I wouldn’t ever have met them or become friends with them if I never joined SRLA.
SRLA really helped me during my freshman year, it was the first year that I had ever ran a marathon. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. Before COVID, I loved the amount the people who would come and support the runners at the LA Marathon. There would be bands and hundreds of signs. Seeing all those people support strangers like me really motivated me to continue to run. The idea of supporting someone you don’t know was such a powerful concept to me. One core memory I hold close was during my freshman year. I promised myself that I would make sure to run all four LA Marathons no matter what happened. As I graduated high school, I thank myself for keeping the promise I made to myself.
My senior year was a large roller coaster of highs and lows. Finishing my promise was definitely one of my highest moments. However, one of my low moments was when my dad passed away this year. My dad was a huge support for me. He would take me to all my races and he made sure that I knew how much he supported me. I really appreciated him because he would have to wake up early after a hard day at work to take me to run. When I finished my last LA Marathon as a high schooler, it was emotional because of the race ending but also because my dad wasn’t there for the first time. Knowing that my dad would’ve loved to be there at this past LA Marathon, I felt like his memory and spirit really pushed me to the finish line.
I would like to shoutout my teacher Tanya Paz Baca, who really pulled the group with all of my classmates. My first SRLA coach, Lizet Gomez who moved from my school but she was super helpful. She really pushed me through my first marathon. My brother, Angel Medina. My sister, Sheila Medina. My mom, Imelda Europa. Lastly, I’d like to thank my dad for all the support he gave me when he could.
“Knowing that my dad would’ve loved to be there at this past LA Marathon, I felt like his memory and spirit really pushed me to the finish line.”