Jonah Pearson's Staging Area

My first half marathon was incredible. The number of people that ran and the complexity of the reasons that caused us all to run is so compelling to me. I started running consistently this winter and almost entirely for my mental health. It’s truly the best way for me to decompress and has become a huge component of my mental hygiene. I debated whether to share this… but I think it’s important to do so. In addition to the rigor of school (I’m a first year medical student), grief and loss has forcefully touched me, and every part of my family. I’ve attended three funerals since late February: a thoughtful cousin-in-law, a hilarious and loving uncle-in-law, and my truly one-of-a-kind grandpa.

I ran for all of them, and especially my grandpa. He would have turned 84 last week and we would have been celebrating his birthday with him this last weekend. My favorite memory with him in Fargo coincidentally happened right behind me in this picture. It was during my junior year at Concordia College that he came to town to get dinner with me. I brought him to the hip pizza place downtown and, of course, he fit right in 🙂 He knew I was looking for some chairs at the time, so he had found some at a garage sale, used his wood-working skills to fix them up, and brought them with for me. He’s given me and so many others countless things, but the indisputable best is an incredible example of how to live on this planet (the crazy stories from his youth mostly included!).

Mental hygiene looks a little different for everyone, I don’t have it all figured out, but I do know that just as physical hygiene revolutionized the world’s health, better mental hygiene holds the key to the next revolution.

The Fargo Marathon is exceptional. It’s always well organized and there were people cheering along almost the entire half marathon route. It was one of the reasons I ran such a great first race. I know I’ll be back for more!