I’m Marta Leszczyńska, I’m from Poland. Last year I started my Au Pair adventure and also, my running adventure all thanks to my previous host parents. I had a wonderful year in WA. Before I came to USA many of my friends told me that I will for sure gain weight. I didn’t like to exercise, I used to skip PE at school. Both of my previous host parents were doctors. Even though they were super busy, lots of work during the day, and spending evening with the kiddos, they still managed to live with their passion – running. Both of them were waking up at 5am to go out for a run before work. They were the ones who motivated me and inspired. I struggled a lot at the beginning. I remember telling myself that “You can do it, 5min jog without stopping, you got this”. I can’t believe that 2 weeks ago I ran my first half marathon and I finished it in 2h8min! I’m so proud of myself and that progress. My current host family is also amazing and they also support my passion. They got me a cake which we ate after dinner, to celebrate my half marathon success. 🥰 I’m preparing myself to run a marathon soon, I’m dreaming about running ultras.
Bringing my running to another level happened when together with Becca (my WA host mom) we have signed up for virtual run with Team World Vision. We’ve got a marathon training plan for every day till the final week where we had to run 6k every day. The mission of Team World Vision is to provide clean water in Africa during our lifetime. 6k is the average of the distance which people in Africa have to walk to collect water. This event have shown me how much good can running also bring for other people. I received huge dose of motivation those days. From the people from Team World Vision, from my host parents, Presbyterian church on which team we joined with Becca in this event, my family back home, friends here and there… it was incredible but the biggest motivation was that what I’m doing is helping others. It’s amazing how many opportunities we have to use what we love to do to help each other.
It’s difficult to start running, but later come another challenges. Running requires discipline. Even though I was receiving so much motivation it wasn’t easy to wake up every morning, regardless of the weather, and go out for a run. We all know how comfortable are our beds in the morning, when it’s time to get up… On the moment when I started getting lazy, my host mom gave me an amazing book which changed my life. “Born to run” is not only about running but also about love to another person and to yourself. This book helped me improve my running but also helped me on my way to become a better person. Helped me believe in myself. I’m still working on being a better person, it’s a life-long assignment I guess. People from the book inspired me a lot. I found them on Instagram and I discovered that those people have a whole community now, doing events where people can do together what they like the most – run. The run which is happening in Los Olivos in April is special, because Manuel Luna and other Tarahumara people will be there, who are in the book! You have no idea how excited I am about meeting my inspiration in person.
I can’t imagine my life without running now.
I run almost every day, also in the mornings. It’s still challenging to leave the bed but I know that what I would feel while running, will be worth it. It’s a great boost of energy and endorphins for the rest of the day. It’s also a form of therapy. Running is perfect for sad days and happy days. Helps me to organize my thoughts or find ideas for creative activities with kids. I just simply love to run. I love pushing my limits, reaching my goals. I really wish everyone to find their own passions which would bring them as much happiness as running brings me ❤️
