Graduate returns to inspire kids
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aden Alexander, 21, returned to Mission Elementary School in St. Ignatius on Friday to share his methods for success.
He spoke to a gym full of excited students while on his winter break from the University of Montana where he runs for the cross-country and track teams.
Mission teacher Marc Cutler invited Alexander to the school as a way to inspire the kids by seeing a college level athlete. It also helps that Alexander is a 2013 Mission graduate. Cutler was his senior cross-country coach.
In 2016, his cross-country Griz resume included a 6k at 19:43, an 8k at 24:49, and a 10k at 31:49. Alexander’s success also includes being one of the first people in his family to go to college. He is almost finished with a biology degree.
He told students at the Mission school during a speech that he was an ordinary person and they could also accomplish their goals if they put their minds to it. He had four points of advice: eat healthy food, get lots of sleep, practice, and listen to positive people.
Alexander checks to see how far he can run every now and then. He ran the town’s Buffalo Run in 2015 and won the half-marathon. During a practice run for that race, he ran the half-marathon loop, the 7-mile course, the 4-mile race, the 1-mile fun run — and kept going.
“I ran 35 miles that day,” he said. He checked the distance on his GPS. So, when the kids asked, “How long was your longest run?” He told them 35 miles around St. Ignatius.
Another time, he ran from St. Ignatius to Ronan for fun. The kids asked him how fast he could run. He said he clocked his fastest mile at 4:12 while running for the university. “Wow,” they said.
He still holds Mission High School track records in the 800, 1600, 3200. When he ran track, Ronan and Mission were a co-op and so he also holds Ronan’s 2-mile record.
He says the odd thing about his running success is that he didn’t even want to run in the first place. His mom made him do it. He wanted to play basketball but he was cut from the team.
“I wasn’t very tall,” he said. He thinks he was about 5 feet tall at the time. And his basketball dreams were crushed. He was hurt mentally, but his mom, Bernadette Alexander, forced him to try something else.
“I told him that he wasn’t going to sit around and mope,” she said, after his speech.
He decided to try running with the cross-country team and that decision changed his life. He found motivation and inspiration during his sophomore and junior years from Coach Patrick Murphy.
He spent a lot of time running miles through the wilderness. He saw many bears and other wildlife, which inspired his love for biology. He decided to major in biology in college so he could study nature. He recently studied the habits of wolverines.
He thinks his life would be much different if he hadn’t tried running with the cross-country team and discovered his passion for running and wildlife. As for the future, he has some job opportunities in his field.
And he wants to see how far he can run, again.
“I want to see if I can run from St. Ignatius to Missoula this time,” he said.
Alexander thinks extra long runs like ultra-marathons might be his next fun challenge.
