'Putting in the mileage': Inspiration from 3 El Paso Marathon runners
There are as many special stories as there are entrants in Sunday's El Paso Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5K Run/Walk, which is to say more than 3,000 of them.
For Monica Bustillos, Ysleta ISD's director of initiatives and affairs is limiting herself to the 5K this year so she has more time to oversee, cheer on and photograph perennially the largest of the estimated 90 teams in the event. The district's contingent of more than 370 runners.
For 37-year-old Jaclyn Fike-Taveras, one of the better half marathoners in the field Sunday, running was how she found peace of mind after the birth of her third child.
For 32-year-old Gonzalo Espinoza, a top-10 finisher in the marathon last year, running was how he reclaimed a life that wasn't always in as good as the place as the one he's run to.
They'll all be together on Sunday for El Paso's 17th annual event. The marathon begins at 7 a.m. at San Elizario High School, and the others begin at the El Paso Coliseum, where all three races end.
"I used to struggle with alcohol, I used to drink a lot," said Espinoza, a one-time high school dropout who has now qualified for this year's Chicago Marathon and wants to qualify for Boston on Sunday. "When I first quit drinking it was hard, I didn't know how to stay sober. Then I met my wife Debby. She's the one who pushed me to start boxing.
"When I started boxing, they made me start running. I used to hate running. When I started running, little by little I fell in love with it. One day I had to choose between boxing and running, I chose running and I've been running since."
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Espinoza is a groundskeeper with Ysleta ISD, a proud member of that big team that with competitors in every division, and running started to become important to him five years ago when he was 27. He ran his first half marathon in El Paso in 2019, swore he would never do anything like that again, then ran the El Paso marathon in 2020.
He won the marathon in Lubbock last year and has a personal best of 3 hours, 3 minutes, just three minutes off what he'll need to run to qualify for Boston.
Of his first half marathon three years ago, "I thought I was dying," said Espinoza, a former Bel Air student who now has two GEDs. "I had blisters on both of my feet. I called my wife and told her I was struggling. I'm not going to be able to finish it. She kept encouraging me, telling me to push it. When I saw the finish line, I was impressed with myself, that I was able to do it.
"I said I would never do it again, but the next year I did the full marathon. The same thing happened in that marathon. At mile 18 I got cramps in both legs, I thought I wasn't going to finish. But I was able to push through. I said I wasn't going to do another marathon, but now I want to do 50 miles."
Mostly, he hopes his story sends a message to others.
"Once I started running I learned that I was able to control my mind, talk to God in my mind, talk to my family in my mind," Espinoza said. "I have everybody in my heart. That's when I started falling in love with running.
"Now I don't just run for me, I run for my family, for my co-workers, for everybody out there who thinks they can't change their life around and do something positive. Work hard; if you want something you can get it.
"When I first started no one knew me. Now it's nice, all the people from Ysleta have started to know me. Monica Bustillos has helped me a lot, motivational speeches, telling me I'm good. That makes me want to represent my job. When I first stopped drinking, my job was a big piece of why I changed my life."
Said Bustillos: "It's so neat to see him representing, doing what he can. Those are the stories we look for, employees who can inspire and motivate each other."
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Represent The District
The potential for a story like Espinoza's is part of what led Bustillos to get the Ysleta ISD involved and interest all across the district has grown. Ysleta fielded its first team six years ago, and after the hiccup during the pandemic, participation is back to its highest level, just like the El Paso Marathon as a whole.
Runners don't have to be on teams — most aren't — but the Ysleta group will be easy to spot in their The District t-shirts.
"Several years ago, we went to our superintendent Dr. (Xavier) De La Torre with the idea, 'What if?,'" Bustillos said. "It's definitely a team-builder. We get people from all walks of life, all different types of employees. We have grounds(keepers), custodians, maintenance teachers, administrators, central-office administrators.
"The point is to build the camaraderie within our school and do our best to represent one of El Paso's great activities. This is an El Paso tradition and we want to support that. On top of that, it helped us promote wellness among our employees. We tell them, if you've never run a 5K give it a shot, do a walk-run.
"Go out and do something for the first time."
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Running to get outside
Fike-Taveras has been running off and on her whole life but got serious about it when she had her third child (they are 9, 7 and 5). She quickly got hooked, running three marathons in 2019, and now is one of the best marathoners in El Paso.
She ran Chicago this past October when she turned in a personal best of 3:13 and is running Boston in April, which is why she's limiting herself to the half-marathon Sunday.
"It was about staying fit and getting fresh air, that was the big thing," said Fike-Taveras, who is studying at UTEP to become a nurse practitioner. Her husband is a cardiologist. "It was as much for mental health as cardiovascular health. I love it, I don't get tired of it and when I can't run I miss it.
"It started after the third child, wanting to get back in shape, and it developed into a new-found love of getting out of the house and having some me time."
She remembers how it really got going four years ago.
"I had a good friend who always would say, 'Saturday morning we're going to get out of the house and go for a run,'" Fike-Taveras said. "It went from 10 miles, to 12 to 16. We kept adding. I felt if I can do this, I can train for a marathon. I'm already putting in the mileage.
"That's how it happened. It's a way to have some Mom time with friends of mine and we kept extending it. It's an addiction, but it's a good addiction."
Sunday in El Paso, in the running community's signature event, more than 3,000 runners get to show the fruits of their healthy addiction.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
El Paso Marathon
What: The Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon, Raiz Federal Credit Union Half Marathon, and Spine & Rehab Specialists 5K Run/Walk.
When: 7 a.m. Sunday for Marathon and Half Marathon, 7:30 a.m. for 5K Run/Walk. Top marathoners should take around 2 hours, 45 minutes to reach the Coliseum.
Where: Marathon begins at San Elizario High School and ends at El Paso County Coliseum. Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk begin and end at El Paso County Coliseum.
Expected field: More than 3,000 runners and 90 teams are expected to participate.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Runners draw, give inspiration in 2023 El Paso Marathon
