October 21, 2021 • 32 mins
#033 - There are many reasons to start running. But once you start, you will discover a world of mental and physical benefits. In this episode, Demetra Dentes will share why she started running and her journey to qualify as an elite Spartan obstacle course racer.
Topics Covered:
- Why turn to fitness during a difficult time
- How to keep going when you are not motivated
- Advice for new and experienced runners
Today's Guest
Demetra Dentes
Demetra is a law student at Penn State law and primarily a mountain racer. She started Spartan racing in 2019 and has now qualified to race elite in 2022.
Follow Demetra:
- Instagram - @dem_dentes
- Youtube - Demetra Dentes
Additional Resources:
For more information, visit Inspire Virtual Runs.
Join the community and click the subscribe button!
Start your wellness journey and feel better with a 30-Day Healthy Living program!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Richard Conner (00:00):
Welcome to Episode 33. Today we're going to
speak with Demetra Dentes, whois a law student and spurt an
obstacle course racer, she isgoing to share her inspiring
story about how she went from anabusive relationship and being
told she couldn't do obstacles,all the way to qualifying as an
(00:21):
elite in Spartan obstacle courseraces. Hope you enjoy. Here's
what you can look forward to onthis episode of Inspire Virtual
Runs Podcast.
Demetra Dentes (00:31):
You know, I'm going to go for like an hour
long run today and it's taken methat long, it does take a while
sometimes, but it's there's Ifeel like there's two different
levels of a runner right youhave like, like very beginning
level runners, which I have beenup until like this year, where
you feel as though it's like,Okay, I gotta go for a run to
make sure I do better and yada,yada, yada. And then you hit
(00:54):
that point where you become arunner for meditation. It almost
feels like a meditation to gofor a run and to clear your mind
and make sure that you are hereyou're in the present moment
mentally you are there in themoment running, feeling good.
And you know, it's the bestfeeling in the world.
Intro/Outro (01:18):
Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast, whether
you are new to running orseasoned, get tips and the
inspiration that you need toachieve your health and fitness
goals. Now, here's your host,Richard Conner.
Richard Conner (01:36):
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Inspire Virtual RunsPodcast. I'm here with today's
guest, dimitra dantas. dimitrais a law student at Penn State
law, primarily a mountain racer,started Spartan racing in 2019,
and has now qualified to raceelite in 2022. So welcome to the
show Demetra.
Demetra Dentes (01:59):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm super
excited to be here.
Richard Conner (02:03):
I'm excited to have you here as well. You know,
I love your story about how yougot into running and all the
work and the races that you'redoing now. And you just
qualified for a lead forSpartan, which I think is super
cool. So we're definitely goingto talk about that. But really
just I'm really excited to shareyour story with the Inspire
Virtual Runs community.
Demetra Dentes (02:23):
Sounds fantastic. I can't wait to tell
it.
Richard Conner (02:27):
All right. So let's go ahead and get started.
And I would love for the InspireVirtual Runs community to get to
know you a little bit better. Solet's, uh, if you could tell us
a little bit more aboutyourself.
Demetra Dentes (02:37):
Yeah, absolutely. So as you said
before, I am a Penn State lawstudent. Um, I never in a
million years saw myself goingto law school. But here we are.
And I in undergrad just was veryscholastic base, I didn't do
many sports, I did some clubs,field hockey here and there. But
(03:00):
nothing too crazy. Um, I did alot of sports growing up. So I
think when I got to undergrad, Ijust wanted to kind of Reel back
from that a little bit and takea little bit of time to just
relax and focus on school. Um,but then, around my junior year
of college, I got into thisrelationship, and I were he was
(03:26):
in the army and he was aninfantry, I'll just say that
much. But other than that, itwas started, okay. But then it
became actually very abusive,mentally, very, to say the
least, it was difficult. And he,him and I would talk about all
the stuff that he does on adaily basis being in the army.
(03:48):
Obviously, it's very difficultjob, especially being an
infantry, it can be very taxing,and but part of their daily day
to day activities is going toPT. And their PT training was a
lot of obstacles, which is howwe eventually get to obstacle
course racing. But he, one timewe were having the discussion I
(04:11):
said, Oh, it'd be fun to try itonce like on my end, I'd love to
try it. And he goes, heliterally said this word for
word. You never do what I do.
And I sat there Wow, that'svery, number one very rude.
Number two that just it justkind of like diminish me that
much more. So then eventually Iget out of that relationship,
(04:35):
thank God. And then thereafter,I started to say to myself, you
know what, I need something tomotivate me to get myself in the
right spirits. And I alwaysfound that I was happiest when I
was doing sports or beingactive. And so I thought to
myself, you know what, let'sjust find something to do and
(04:56):
that took a couple months. I wasin the gym. gym in and out. But
then I always find excuses notto go. Um, I then thereafter
find an advertisement forSpartan racing. And for the
listeners that don't know reallywhat that is, it's all obstacle
course racing. So there'smultiple different lengths,
(05:18):
which we'll get into a littlelater. But it's very much
there's like the basics, ropeclimbing, barbed wire, crawl,
stuff like that. And honestly, Idid not do any of the obstacles
at first, barely passed any ofthem at first. So but I, a lot
of my main focus when I firststarted was the reading. And,
(05:39):
but when I committed to thatfirst race, it really put me in
a new mindset of Holy cow, if Idon't start training soon, this
race is going to really kill me.
I just worked that much harderto make sure I could get through
the race. And it felt so goodthat I just kept on going. And
(06:04):
here we are.
Richard Conner (06:05):
Oh, wow. That I mean, there was there was a lot
there. So congratulations onthat first race. I mean, that
sounds like it was if you'venever done it before, it can be
quite challenging, and you don'treally know what to expect. So,
you know, congratulations forgetting through that. So I mean,
that's just a fascinating story,how you kind of took that
negative and turned it into apositive, right? Where you were
(06:28):
kind of belittled, I don't knowif it goes far to say
discriminated against, right tosay that you can't do this, and
you really showed that you couldso so what a wonderful story. I
mean, how, what what was that?
Like? Like, what kind of ranthrough your mind? I am going to
do this. And that's kind of likehow did you go from from that to
the Spartan Race?
Demetra Dentes (06:49):
With the owner of Spartan Joe de Sena, he
originally created these becauseof that military structure that
really set these military men upfor success. They got up at 5am,
they did all these obstacles intheir training. And for me, I
(07:12):
saw the Spartan Race, I'mthinking to myself, this is
exactly what they do. And it hasrunning involved. And honestly,
the reading part is the onlypart that I feel like I'm having
issues with, so I just got totrain on my running and make
sure I can do obstacles will beokay. And honestly, I was just
gonna push through that firstrace to get through it and say
(07:33):
that I could do it. And then asevery Spartan racer that says, I
got the bug. And you just keepon going and keep on signing up
for races keep going to theseevents, and it's just life
changing, honestly.
Richard Conner (07:50):
Yeah, it absolutely is. And I love what
you said about your experiencein the first one it was it was
challenging to do and some folksmay think well, you're in
sports, you grew up doingsports, you're a runner, quote,
unquote, you're a runner, ofcourse, this is easy, you can do
it. That's not something thatthat I can do. But it's it's a
challenge. It's a new challengethat you had to learn how to do
(08:10):
and you know, I'll share myexperience. I did my first
Spartan Race, I think it wasabout three years ago. And
similar experience. I grew up insports, but I wasn't really
athletic, but I did crosscountry and I did a little
track. So you know, when I foundthe Spartan Race, it felt like a
new challenge for me. And Itrained a little bit for quite a
few months, I did a little PTfor my shoulder. I did some of
(08:34):
the workouts that they hadrecommended. I'm like, Okay, I'm
ready to go. I started the race.
I did the first three obstacles,great, no problem, I'm feeling
really good about myself. Andthen I got to the fourth one,
and I failed it. And I literallylost my will to live. I'm
thinking I've got like anotherthree plus miles to go we at the
(08:55):
time we didn't know how longeach of the races were right, it
wasn't right standardized it istoday. And I knew there was at
least two or three otherobstacles that I had really
little very little chance ofsucceeding. So you know after
those 30 burpees it was justlike this is this is really
tough. But um, but I did it youknow, I got back up and I
finished a race. And just likeyou I was like, You know what,
(09:17):
got to train differently. Yougot to train better for the next
one. And that's kind of that'skind of where I'm at so so
really great. I think anybodycould do it, but you got to put
your mind to it. And you know,don't discount it. If someone is
a runner don't discount thatthey automatically could do you
know something like a Spartanobstacle course race?
Demetra Dentes (09:37):
Oh, absolutely.
I grew up playing the teamsports. I'll tell you that much.
But I was never the best at it.
I was never like, I was never across country runner. I when I
was doing team sports, I wasplaying defense. And I was
playing the back defense. Iwasn't moving anywhere. There
was nowhere I was going that waspassed. Maybe the 25 yard line
(10:01):
if that. So, trust me when Itell you I never, ever ran,
doing these Spartan races hasbeaten me forced me to become a
runner. And honestly, I can saythat it's taken me from, like
2019 to 21 to be genuinelycomfortable to say, No, I'm
(10:21):
going to go for like an hourlong run today and it's taken me
that long, it does take a whilesometimes. But it's, there's I
feel like there's two differentlevels of a runner right? You
have like, like very beginninglevel runners, which I have been
up until like this year, whereyou feel as though it's like,
Okay, I gotta go for a run tomake sure I do better and yada,
yada, yada. And then you hitthat point where you become a
(10:45):
runner. for meditation, italmost feels like a meditation
to go for a run and to clearyour mind and make sure that you
are here, you're in the presentmoment, mentally you are there.
In the moment, running, feelinggood. And you know, it's the
best feeling in the world. It'sit took me a while to like
(11:07):
running genuinely. But it gotthere. And it's not, it's
definitely a scary thought. Atfirst, it's definitely a scary
thought at first to even startto you're like, Where the heck
do I start, but honestly, justputting on your sneakers and
going is probably the best wayto even get there.
Richard Conner (11:29):
Absolutely, absolutely. And kind of
overcoming number one that fearor that that doubt, you know if
you can or can't do it. And thenand then yeah, just the physical
aspect of it. And building up tothat one hour run where, you
know, up until a year ago, Ididn't run anything, let's say
over like a 10k. So I was across country runner, but really
(11:51):
5k runs were really my jam. Andabout a year ago, I decided or
more than a year ago, I decidedto do a Spartan trifecta, which
you know, is a sprint, super andbese. So 5k 10k and half
marathon, and I never run a halfmarathon before that this is
before so I'm like, Alright, I'mgoing to run a half marathon
distance, and do these obstacleson top of that. So that was my
(12:13):
challenge for the last year. Butyou know, with COVID, everything
went virtual. So I did thevirtual sprint, super and beast,
and it was great. So you know, Ihad the half marathon and I
built up to that distance. Andat that time, I didn't think or
know if I could do it. But eachweek I just increased the
(12:35):
distance until I finally gotthere. So and then when I did
it, it was great. I you know, Idid it. I did it within the time
I wanted to do it. And it allworked out really well. So it
was just a great experience.
Demetra Dentes (12:47):
Yeah, my first experience with a half marathon
was also with Spartan so like myagain, similar to you my very
minimal running experience wasall these five K's that were
like, benefit 5K's or likesomething like that. And then
similar to you again, I did theone sprint and I said alright, I
gotta go for the trifecta. I gotto do this. So I did the
(13:11):
palmerton Super, which was achallenge like I like we said
before, I'm a mountain racer,they used to have what they call
the mountain series, whichbasically was working the
benefit, I believe it was AirForce, but the poverty was part
of the mountain series andkilling it was part of the
mountain series. And Killingtonis now ranked the number one
(13:36):
hardest Spartan event in thenation. So I when I saw that I
said, Oh, good, I'm probablygoing to die, but I that's
what's gonna happen. Then I wentto the event, and I said, You
know what, it's just double asuper, it's fine. I'll get
(13:57):
there.
I tried to just, I tried to wrapmy mind around it. But I also
did not bring nearly enough fuelfor those kinds of races, unless
you're doing the virtual one,which I feel like it's much
easier to just kind of just dothe do the exercises and then
(14:19):
run and I feel like with theactual Spartan event, half
marathons, you have to bring theright fuel. So the first race I
got to mile while I got toSpartan mile 13. But at that
point, I believe it was actuallymile, like 14, maybe if not 15.
(14:42):
And you rounded this corner. Andwe're all like yes, we've
completed 13 miles It's so good.
And you realize you have to goall the way back down. And then
there's this. They called it asecond death march because the
for this venue. There's thisicon Like death march that's
always talked about on all thesocial media platforms. And
(15:02):
we've already been through that.
So we said yes, we don't haveany more inclined, we're good to
go. Then there was a secondsuper steep incline and we're
all looking at each otherthinking, holy cow, are we
serious? I was just happy toeven have finished the race. Um,
(15:23):
but then thereafter, I did killit and again this past year, and
that one was even harder thanthe last one because
Richard Conner (15:31):
oh no, itget easier.
Demetra Dentes (15:36):
It should get easier. They made it harder. So
what happened was at the end ofthis race, they did the same
thing again, they threw in alast incline, but this incline
was even worse than the lastone.
Richard Conner (15:48):
Oh, wow. That's incredible. So I've had no
desire to do Killington, butI've heard a lot of stories
about it. And I saw, you know, Isaw a posting someone asked,
What is the hardest SpartanRace, and someone else had
responded. Killington Beast,Killington, Super Killington,
Sprint and Killington Kids. Poorkids bad if that's the case, I
(16:13):
can't I can't imagine what thatrace is like, but but hats off
to you, because I know that isthe hardest race and that is,
it's quite challenging to be upon that mountain. So So
congratulations for that.
Demetra Dentes (16:24):
Thank you. I appreciate it. It was a lot. It
was a fun venue, but it was alot.
Richard Conner (16:30):
So let's talk a little bit more about that. So
you progress through the Spartanraces, you've done that the
toughest one, at least here inthe US, I don't know maybe even
in the world, and now that youqualified for elite status, so
tell, you know, tell tell usabout that you've gone from not
running to basically beingchallenged to now you're an
elite, you know, elite status,that's tremendous. So So tell me
(16:50):
a little bit about that.
Demetra Dentes (16:52):
Yeah, um, so the first time I got the
notification that I qualifiedwas actually for Killington in
2019. And the only reason why Iqualified is because I was
fourth out of four people in myage group. I got because you
have to place in order toqualify for elite, you have to
(17:13):
place either top five in yourage group or top 10 in elite to
re qualify. And I got thenotification that I qualified.
And I said that I said, the onlyreason I qualified is because I
got fourth out of four. So Isaid, All right, if I get the
notification again, I'm going todo it. I'm going to sign up
elite, and I'm going to just gofor it. So I qualified again at
(17:38):
the 2020 Greek peak, winter,spring and winter sprint Spartan
Race. And that is my originalvenue. It is my favorite venue.
It is the most fun venue, in myopinion, because I run best in
the cold, which a lot of peoplesay that it kind of like locks
them up a little bit. I used tobe a downhill ski racer. So with
(17:59):
the mountain venue, this eventwas like I was going back home.
So to be able to run on thatmountain. It was such a great
experience. I was like I raceddown it, but now I get to run
up, race up. So um, but withthat venue, I it was my first
ever completely clean race. Ihad not missed a single
(18:24):
obstacle. I didn't have to do asingle burpee. It was insane. I
couldn't
Richard Conner (18:29):
no burpees, Come on.
Demetra Dentes (18:30):
No, burpees, I seriously no burpees. It was the
craziest moment.
Richard Conner (18:36):
Even the spear throw
Demetra Dentes (18:37):
I was, I was shocked. very shocked. I got
over the fire jump. And I lookedback at over the finish line.
I'm thinking myself, I didn'thave to do a single burpee. I
was in total shock. And Ifinished with my best time ever,
I couldn't believe it. And Iended up finishing fourth out of
25 in my age group. And that'swhen I re-qualified. And I sat
(19:00):
there and I said, You know what?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's do it.
This is my year. 2020 is theyear and I feel like everyone
said that pre COVID. I was like,2020 is the year to do it. And
then the pandemic habit. And itwas literally the weekend before
everything started shuttingdown. So I believe that was the
(19:21):
first weekend of March. Becausethen a lot of students were also
on spring break the followingweek. And that's when all of our
schools started to say because Iwas, that was my first year in
law school. So we got an emailthe following Tuesday, say, we
are now officially fully remotefor the rest of the semester.
yada yada yada. And I to say theleast was disappointed, but
(19:47):
hopeful because I was like, Youknow what, maybe this is just
for a little bit. We all thoughtit was maybe going to be a
couple months. And so when Isubmitted my application for
elite and I got accepted, I saidyes, this is what I'm gonna do.
I immediately signed up forpalmerton Elite and I said I
have this commitment now I can'tback down. Unfortunately, I
can't because the race got kidsI that the race got canceled. I
(20:16):
also had qualified for Worldtrifecta championships in
Sparta, Greece. So those gotpostponed to 2021, which now
have been postponed to 2022. Um,and it was devastating to say
the least. But then the virtualtrifecta happened. And I decided
(20:37):
to do that within 48 hours,because I thought to myself,
that's what an elite would tryto do, right and elite would try
to do this and push themselvesto get this done within a
certain amount of time, becausethat's really what a trifecta
weekend is. So as the for thelisteners that don't know this
(20:58):
Spartan also has these raceevents called trifecta,
weekends. And the weekends willconsist of a beast at the
beginning of the weekend, soSaturday, and then they'll have
a Super Sunday morning, and thenend the weekend with a spring.
So I did everything in reverse.
But I did it as those thattrifecta weekend. And it was one
(21:19):
of the hardest things I've everhad to do. But I also did not
feel as totally diminished. Iguess the word would be as I
normally would feel afterSpartan Race, because I don't
know about you after the virtualbut after the virtual for me the
half marathon, I felt like amillion bucks, I was like I'm on
(21:42):
air right now, I can keep going,I feel like and then I know,
it's like, if I kept going,wouldn't that be a good idea.
Richard Conner (21:54):
Especially if you just finished a sprint and
the super, you know, ahead ofthat, that would
Demetra Dentes (21:59):
exactly so and so after that I kind of have to
re train myself, I did not thinkthat I was elite material
anymore. Um, so from all myraces this past year, I
registered an age group, justbecause I thought it would be
easiest that way. And, you know,just was happy to be like racing
(22:25):
again, that's where my mind wasat. And I could build myself
back up into the racer that Iwanted to be, um, I then
qualified for the age groupNorth American championships
that took place in Tahoe. And Ithat race was very difficult to
(22:46):
say the least. But I was veryhappy to go do it, it was
definitely changed because therewas no water obstacles because
of the drought. And there wasalso no fire jump because of the
fire ban. So it was a lotdifferent than the normal races
but it was again, so much fun.
Definitely life changing. And ifI qualify as an elite I will
(23:07):
definitely be going back
Richard Conner (23:11):
Oh, what a wonderful story well again,
congratulations on everythingthat you've accomplished even
through the pandemic through theheartbreak of races being
cancelled, which you know, Iknow I was just like wait a
minute, I just bought thistrifecta pass and I had my mind
set on doing this there's thesprint, super, and beast and all
that just you know went away soso hats off to you for
(23:32):
everything you've done, youknow, all the way through this
pandemic.
Demetra Dentes (23:36):
Yeah, thanks so much you too.
Richard Conner (23:38):
So tell me a little bit about like how have
you kept yourself motivated liketo keep going to keep training
to keep pushing yourself becauseyou know, we're living in a time
where this is not normal, right?
Where we're in a situation wherewe have different pressures in
life and and being isolated andthere's just a lot going on, you
know, over the last 18 months solike how have you kind of stayed
(24:00):
motivated or you know, kind ofkept up with your fitness?
Demetra Dentes (24:06):
If I may, perfectly honest, did not at
first, um, when I found outabout everything that happened,
like trifecta, worlds beingpushed off 2020 itself was okay,
because I think I was had thisthing in my mind, as most people
did in 2020 that they said,Alright, this is only gonna last
(24:28):
so long. We're gonna get into2021 and things are gonna be
normal again. Well, I don't knowabout anyone else, but for me,
they did not feel normal. Withearly 2021 I just got into a new
relationship. So I had gained alot of this like comfort,
(24:50):
weight, if you will, from beingin a relationship and like not
feeling like you really have totry so hard to look so good. You
just Want to eat in New York anddo things, and I had gained
almost 15 pounds. And then I hadregistered for all of my races
(25:11):
for this year, and thought,alright, I should get on the
horn, I should start like,running again, I should start
doing this. And then I went tothe gym, and I feel like things
are exponentially harder to do.
It was insane. Because it eventhough like 15 pounds, like in
the broad picture, is it a lot,it can feel like a lot. It's
(25:36):
it's, it's very strange to feelthat difference when you go and
work out when you go run. Andfor me, I was trying to go run
every single day, at least forlike a little bit, it wasn't
going to be like hour long runslike I do now. But there are
going to be maybe 10 minutes onthe treadmill, 20 minutes on the
(25:57):
treadmill, if that likesomething to just keep me
moving. And I had to work tolose all that weight again. And
it was very motivating for me,just because I knew I wanted to
do a lot better. I wanted to getback to that elite status, when
I was getting back to events.
(26:19):
And so if I want it to be thatelite status, I used to feel
good running again. And in orderto feel good running again, I
need to get back into the shapethat I need to be. And I think
my biggest motivation was that Iknew what that felt like. I knew
how I felt during that superclean race where I had to do and
(26:39):
did not do any burpees. And Iwanted to feel like that again,
and get to become even better.
And to not have to do anyburpees for surfers. On my
upcoming venues. I mean,sometimes it does happen like
Yeah, but you know, it's good toknow that I have that
motivation, just because I'vedone it before it makes you
(27:02):
think you've done it once.
There's nothing to say that youcan't do it again, you can
definitely do it again, youknow, so for me, I think the
motivating factor was that I haddone it before. And so I was
planning on doing it again. AndI still have that plan. In my
mind. I'm just also currently alaw student goes both ways, you
(27:25):
have to make sure that yourcomforts and stress stress
levels are met. But you alsowant to make sure you are racing
so racing properly. So
Richard Conner (27:37):
very cool. Very cool. Well, thank you for
sharing that. Kind of as we aswe wrap up here. Is there
anything that you want to sharewith the Inspire Virtual Runs
community to help inspire themto start running, or continue
running or even restart theirjourney. Um,
Demetra Dentes (27:53):
I would say for anyone that is starting to run,
don't think that all everyonewas born a runner. Because not
everyone was born a runner, Iwas definitely not born a
runner. I started by putting ona pair of sneakers and trying to
run three miles ended up runningto and stopped about eight
(28:16):
times. I think it's easy to saythat it is difficult to start
running if you are not a inborn, amazing runner. But if you
just start from somewhere andyour body will adapt, your body
will become a better runner overtime. And it does take some
(28:37):
time. So be patient, for peoplethat are restarting, which I
think is a big thing right nowbecause of the pandemic. And
because of all this time thatpeople have really felt
unmotivated to do much. We areopening back up, we are starting
to do events. Again, all thesecool experiences are coming back
(29:00):
up to fruition. I say justcommit to an event, even if it's
like a 5k even if it's a sprint,Spartan, or even if it's just a
road race, something to put yourmind into that train of thought
to say okay, I should probablystart getting back in the
running game, we should probablystart maybe doing some dead
(29:23):
hands like stuff, stuff likethat. And I think that literally
starting with like the smallestcommitment can be the start of
the best journey of your lifeand it's going to be difficult.
It always is difficult to start.
But you'll be grateful that youstarted today instead of
starting tomorrow because anykind of any kind of advantage
(29:45):
that you may have of a day or anextra training session will help
you in whatever event that youdo decide to do. So.
Richard Conner (29:55):
sage advice for listeners. Thank you so much
Demetra. Thank you again foryour time. Thank you for sharing
your story. How can thecommunity follow you find you
and follow your journey online.
Demetra Dentes (30:10):
So you can follow me on Instagram, which my
handle is dem d e, m, as in Maryunderscore dentres, d e n t e s,
as you'll see my name spelled.
And then you can also follow meon my YouTube channels, just as
my name is spelled here on theepisode to meet your dad test. I
do post a lot of race recaps andsuch like that training
(30:31):
sessions, all of the above. Sodefinitely come find me on
social media. If you have anyquestions, let me know.
Richard Conner (30:41):
Thank you so much. So I will include that in
the show notes, show notes. Justonce again, just want to say
thank you so much for coming onthe show. Good luck with your
upcoming races, and especiallynext year. And you know, have a
great day.
Demetra Dentes (30:55):
Thank you so much here as well.
Richard Conner (30:58):
Wow, such a great conversation with Demetra.
And I'd like to share my threekey takeaways from the
conversation. The first one ishow she turned a negative into a
positive. She was told shecouldn't do something. And she
set out to do it despite themental and physical challenges.
The second thing is she didn'tlet obstacles get in the way.
(31:22):
She didn't let the pandemic getin the way of doing her races.
She turned to virtual and stayedactive to reach her goals. And
third, is she talked aboutstarting with the smallest
commitment and building on that.
And eventually you'll get towhere you want to go. So I hope
you really enjoyed this episodeas much as I did. Please check
(31:44):
us out atinspirevirtualruns.com, you'll
have all the latest episodes, aswell as links to our social
media platforms. So thanks againfor listening, and have a great
day.
Intro/Outro (32:01):
That's it for this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs
Podcast. If you enjoyed thispodcast, please leave a review.
Also, be sure to click thesubscribe button so you don't
miss an episode. Thanks forlistening.
Welcome to Episode 33. Today we're going to
speak with Demetra Dentes, whois a law student and spurt an
obstacle course racer, she isgoing to share her inspiring
story about how she went from anabusive relationship and being
told she couldn't do obstacles,all the way to qualifying as an
(00:21):
elite in Spartan obstacle courseraces. Hope you enjoy. Here's
what you can look forward to onthis episode of Inspire Virtual
Runs Podcast.
Demetra Dentes (00:31):
You know, I'm going to go for like an hour
long run today and it's taken methat long, it does take a while
sometimes, but it's there's Ifeel like there's two different
levels of a runner right youhave like, like very beginning
level runners, which I have beenup until like this year, where
you feel as though it's like,Okay, I gotta go for a run to
make sure I do better and yada,yada, yada. And then you hit
(00:54):
that point where you become arunner for meditation. It almost
feels like a meditation to gofor a run and to clear your mind
and make sure that you are hereyou're in the present moment
mentally you are there in themoment running, feeling good.
And you know, it's the bestfeeling in the world.
Intro/Outro (01:18):
Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast, whether
you are new to running orseasoned, get tips and the
inspiration that you need toachieve your health and fitness
goals. Now, here's your host,Richard Conner.
Richard Conner (01:36):
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Inspire Virtual RunsPodcast. I'm here with today's
guest, dimitra dantas. dimitrais a law student at Penn State
law, primarily a mountain racer,started Spartan racing in 2019,
and has now qualified to raceelite in 2022. So welcome to the
show Demetra.
Demetra Dentes (01:59):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm super
excited to be here.
Richard Conner (02:03):
I'm excited to have you here as well. You know,
I love your story about how yougot into running and all the
work and the races that you'redoing now. And you just
qualified for a lead forSpartan, which I think is super
cool. So we're definitely goingto talk about that. But really
just I'm really excited to shareyour story with the Inspire
Virtual Runs community.
Demetra Dentes (02:23):
Sounds fantastic. I can't wait to tell
it.
Richard Conner (02:27):
All right. So let's go ahead and get started.
And I would love for the InspireVirtual Runs community to get to
know you a little bit better. Solet's, uh, if you could tell us
a little bit more aboutyourself.
Demetra Dentes (02:37):
Yeah, absolutely. So as you said
before, I am a Penn State lawstudent. Um, I never in a
million years saw myself goingto law school. But here we are.
And I in undergrad just was veryscholastic base, I didn't do
many sports, I did some clubs,field hockey here and there. But
(03:00):
nothing too crazy. Um, I did alot of sports growing up. So I
think when I got to undergrad, Ijust wanted to kind of Reel back
from that a little bit and takea little bit of time to just
relax and focus on school. Um,but then, around my junior year
of college, I got into thisrelationship, and I were he was
(03:26):
in the army and he was aninfantry, I'll just say that
much. But other than that, itwas started, okay. But then it
became actually very abusive,mentally, very, to say the
least, it was difficult. And he,him and I would talk about all
the stuff that he does on adaily basis being in the army.
(03:48):
Obviously, it's very difficultjob, especially being an
infantry, it can be very taxing,and but part of their daily day
to day activities is going toPT. And their PT training was a
lot of obstacles, which is howwe eventually get to obstacle
course racing. But he, one timewe were having the discussion I
(04:11):
said, Oh, it'd be fun to try itonce like on my end, I'd love to
try it. And he goes, heliterally said this word for
word. You never do what I do.
And I sat there Wow, that'svery, number one very rude.
Number two that just it justkind of like diminish me that
much more. So then eventually Iget out of that relationship,
(04:35):
thank God. And then thereafter,I started to say to myself, you
know what, I need something tomotivate me to get myself in the
right spirits. And I alwaysfound that I was happiest when I
was doing sports or beingactive. And so I thought to
myself, you know what, let'sjust find something to do and
(04:56):
that took a couple months. I wasin the gym. gym in and out. But
then I always find excuses notto go. Um, I then thereafter
find an advertisement forSpartan racing. And for the
listeners that don't know reallywhat that is, it's all obstacle
course racing. So there'smultiple different lengths,
(05:18):
which we'll get into a littlelater. But it's very much
there's like the basics, ropeclimbing, barbed wire, crawl,
stuff like that. And honestly, Idid not do any of the obstacles
at first, barely passed any ofthem at first. So but I, a lot
of my main focus when I firststarted was the reading. And,
(05:39):
but when I committed to thatfirst race, it really put me in
a new mindset of Holy cow, if Idon't start training soon, this
race is going to really kill me.
I just worked that much harderto make sure I could get through
the race. And it felt so goodthat I just kept on going. And
(06:04):
here we are.
Richard Conner (06:05):
Oh, wow. That I mean, there was there was a lot
there. So congratulations onthat first race. I mean, that
sounds like it was if you'venever done it before, it can be
quite challenging, and you don'treally know what to expect. So,
you know, congratulations forgetting through that. So I mean,
that's just a fascinating story,how you kind of took that
negative and turned it into apositive, right? Where you were
(06:28):
kind of belittled, I don't knowif it goes far to say
discriminated against, right tosay that you can't do this, and
you really showed that you couldso so what a wonderful story. I
mean, how, what what was that?
Like? Like, what kind of ranthrough your mind? I am going to
do this. And that's kind of likehow did you go from from that to
the Spartan Race?
Demetra Dentes (06:49):
With the owner of Spartan Joe de Sena, he
originally created these becauseof that military structure that
really set these military men upfor success. They got up at 5am,
they did all these obstacles intheir training. And for me, I
(07:12):
saw the Spartan Race, I'mthinking to myself, this is
exactly what they do. And it hasrunning involved. And honestly,
the reading part is the onlypart that I feel like I'm having
issues with, so I just got totrain on my running and make
sure I can do obstacles will beokay. And honestly, I was just
gonna push through that firstrace to get through it and say
(07:33):
that I could do it. And then asevery Spartan racer that says, I
got the bug. And you just keepon going and keep on signing up
for races keep going to theseevents, and it's just life
changing, honestly.
Richard Conner (07:50):
Yeah, it absolutely is. And I love what
you said about your experiencein the first one it was it was
challenging to do and some folksmay think well, you're in
sports, you grew up doingsports, you're a runner, quote,
unquote, you're a runner, ofcourse, this is easy, you can do
it. That's not something thatthat I can do. But it's it's a
challenge. It's a new challengethat you had to learn how to do
(08:10):
and you know, I'll share myexperience. I did my first
Spartan Race, I think it wasabout three years ago. And
similar experience. I grew up insports, but I wasn't really
athletic, but I did crosscountry and I did a little
track. So you know, when I foundthe Spartan Race, it felt like a
new challenge for me. And Itrained a little bit for quite a
few months, I did a little PTfor my shoulder. I did some of
(08:34):
the workouts that they hadrecommended. I'm like, Okay, I'm
ready to go. I started the race.
I did the first three obstacles,great, no problem, I'm feeling
really good about myself. Andthen I got to the fourth one,
and I failed it. And I literallylost my will to live. I'm
thinking I've got like anotherthree plus miles to go we at the
(08:55):
time we didn't know how longeach of the races were right, it
wasn't right standardized it istoday. And I knew there was at
least two or three otherobstacles that I had really
little very little chance ofsucceeding. So you know after
those 30 burpees it was justlike this is this is really
tough. But um, but I did it youknow, I got back up and I
finished a race. And just likeyou I was like, You know what,
(09:17):
got to train differently. Yougot to train better for the next
one. And that's kind of that'skind of where I'm at so so
really great. I think anybodycould do it, but you got to put
your mind to it. And you know,don't discount it. If someone is
a runner don't discount thatthey automatically could do you
know something like a Spartanobstacle course race?
Demetra Dentes (09:37):
Oh, absolutely.
I grew up playing the teamsports. I'll tell you that much.
But I was never the best at it.
I was never like, I was never across country runner. I when I
was doing team sports, I wasplaying defense. And I was
playing the back defense. Iwasn't moving anywhere. There
was nowhere I was going that waspassed. Maybe the 25 yard line
(10:01):
if that. So, trust me when Itell you I never, ever ran,
doing these Spartan races hasbeaten me forced me to become a
runner. And honestly, I can saythat it's taken me from, like
2019 to 21 to be genuinelycomfortable to say, No, I'm
(10:21):
going to go for like an hourlong run today and it's taken me
that long, it does take a whilesometimes. But it's, there's I
feel like there's two differentlevels of a runner right? You
have like, like very beginninglevel runners, which I have been
up until like this year, whereyou feel as though it's like,
Okay, I gotta go for a run tomake sure I do better and yada,
yada, yada. And then you hitthat point where you become a
(10:45):
runner. for meditation, italmost feels like a meditation
to go for a run and to clearyour mind and make sure that you
are here, you're in the presentmoment, mentally you are there.
In the moment, running, feelinggood. And you know, it's the
best feeling in the world. It'sit took me a while to like
(11:07):
running genuinely. But it gotthere. And it's not, it's
definitely a scary thought. Atfirst, it's definitely a scary
thought at first to even startto you're like, Where the heck
do I start, but honestly, justputting on your sneakers and
going is probably the best wayto even get there.
Richard Conner (11:29):
Absolutely, absolutely. And kind of
overcoming number one that fearor that that doubt, you know if
you can or can't do it. And thenand then yeah, just the physical
aspect of it. And building up tothat one hour run where, you
know, up until a year ago, Ididn't run anything, let's say
over like a 10k. So I was across country runner, but really
(11:51):
5k runs were really my jam. Andabout a year ago, I decided or
more than a year ago, I decidedto do a Spartan trifecta, which
you know, is a sprint, super andbese. So 5k 10k and half
marathon, and I never run a halfmarathon before that this is
before so I'm like, Alright, I'mgoing to run a half marathon
distance, and do these obstacleson top of that. So that was my
(12:13):
challenge for the last year. Butyou know, with COVID, everything
went virtual. So I did thevirtual sprint, super and beast,
and it was great. So you know, Ihad the half marathon and I
built up to that distance. Andat that time, I didn't think or
know if I could do it. But eachweek I just increased the
(12:35):
distance until I finally gotthere. So and then when I did
it, it was great. I you know, Idid it. I did it within the time
I wanted to do it. And it allworked out really well. So it
was just a great experience.
Demetra Dentes (12:47):
Yeah, my first experience with a half marathon
was also with Spartan so like myagain, similar to you my very
minimal running experience wasall these five K's that were
like, benefit 5K's or likesomething like that. And then
similar to you again, I did theone sprint and I said alright, I
gotta go for the trifecta. I gotto do this. So I did the
(13:11):
palmerton Super, which was achallenge like I like we said
before, I'm a mountain racer,they used to have what they call
the mountain series, whichbasically was working the
benefit, I believe it was AirForce, but the poverty was part
of the mountain series andkilling it was part of the
mountain series. And Killingtonis now ranked the number one
(13:36):
hardest Spartan event in thenation. So I when I saw that I
said, Oh, good, I'm probablygoing to die, but I that's
what's gonna happen. Then I wentto the event, and I said, You
know what, it's just double asuper, it's fine. I'll get
(13:57):
there.
I tried to just, I tried to wrapmy mind around it. But I also
did not bring nearly enough fuelfor those kinds of races, unless
you're doing the virtual one,which I feel like it's much
easier to just kind of just dothe do the exercises and then
(14:19):
run and I feel like with theactual Spartan event, half
marathons, you have to bring theright fuel. So the first race I
got to mile while I got toSpartan mile 13. But at that
point, I believe it was actuallymile, like 14, maybe if not 15.
(14:42):
And you rounded this corner. Andwe're all like yes, we've
completed 13 miles It's so good.
And you realize you have to goall the way back down. And then
there's this. They called it asecond death march because the
for this venue. There's thisicon Like death march that's
always talked about on all thesocial media platforms. And
(15:02):
we've already been through that.
So we said yes, we don't haveany more inclined, we're good to
go. Then there was a secondsuper steep incline and we're
all looking at each otherthinking, holy cow, are we
serious? I was just happy toeven have finished the race. Um,
(15:23):
but then thereafter, I did killit and again this past year, and
that one was even harder thanthe last one because
Richard Conner (15:31):
oh no, itget easier.
Demetra Dentes (15:36):
It should get easier. They made it harder. So
what happened was at the end ofthis race, they did the same
thing again, they threw in alast incline, but this incline
was even worse than the lastone.
Richard Conner (15:48):
Oh, wow. That's incredible. So I've had no
desire to do Killington, butI've heard a lot of stories
about it. And I saw, you know, Isaw a posting someone asked,
What is the hardest SpartanRace, and someone else had
responded. Killington Beast,Killington, Super Killington,
Sprint and Killington Kids. Poorkids bad if that's the case, I
(16:13):
can't I can't imagine what thatrace is like, but but hats off
to you, because I know that isthe hardest race and that is,
it's quite challenging to be upon that mountain. So So
congratulations for that.
Demetra Dentes (16:24):
Thank you. I appreciate it. It was a lot. It
was a fun venue, but it was alot.
Richard Conner (16:30):
So let's talk a little bit more about that. So
you progress through the Spartanraces, you've done that the
toughest one, at least here inthe US, I don't know maybe even
in the world, and now that youqualified for elite status, so
tell, you know, tell tell usabout that you've gone from not
running to basically beingchallenged to now you're an
elite, you know, elite status,that's tremendous. So So tell me
(16:50):
a little bit about that.
Demetra Dentes (16:52):
Yeah, um, so the first time I got the
notification that I qualifiedwas actually for Killington in
2019. And the only reason why Iqualified is because I was
fourth out of four people in myage group. I got because you
have to place in order toqualify for elite, you have to
(17:13):
place either top five in yourage group or top 10 in elite to
re qualify. And I got thenotification that I qualified.
And I said that I said, the onlyreason I qualified is because I
got fourth out of four. So Isaid, All right, if I get the
notification again, I'm going todo it. I'm going to sign up
elite, and I'm going to just gofor it. So I qualified again at
(17:38):
the 2020 Greek peak, winter,spring and winter sprint Spartan
Race. And that is my originalvenue. It is my favorite venue.
It is the most fun venue, in myopinion, because I run best in
the cold, which a lot of peoplesay that it kind of like locks
them up a little bit. I used tobe a downhill ski racer. So with
(17:59):
the mountain venue, this eventwas like I was going back home.
So to be able to run on thatmountain. It was such a great
experience. I was like I raceddown it, but now I get to run
up, race up. So um, but withthat venue, I it was my first
ever completely clean race. Ihad not missed a single
(18:24):
obstacle. I didn't have to do asingle burpee. It was insane. I
couldn't
Richard Conner (18:29):
no burpees, Come on.
Demetra Dentes (18:30):
No, burpees, I seriously no burpees. It was the
craziest moment.
Richard Conner (18:36):
Even the spear throw
Demetra Dentes (18:37):
I was, I was shocked. very shocked. I got
over the fire jump. And I lookedback at over the finish line.
I'm thinking myself, I didn'thave to do a single burpee. I
was in total shock. And Ifinished with my best time ever,
I couldn't believe it. And Iended up finishing fourth out of
25 in my age group. And that'swhen I re-qualified. And I sat
(19:00):
there and I said, You know what?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's do it.
This is my year. 2020 is theyear and I feel like everyone
said that pre COVID. I was like,2020 is the year to do it. And
then the pandemic habit. And itwas literally the weekend before
everything started shuttingdown. So I believe that was the
(19:21):
first weekend of March. Becausethen a lot of students were also
on spring break the followingweek. And that's when all of our
schools started to say because Iwas, that was my first year in
law school. So we got an emailthe following Tuesday, say, we
are now officially fully remotefor the rest of the semester.
yada yada yada. And I to say theleast was disappointed, but
(19:47):
hopeful because I was like, Youknow what, maybe this is just
for a little bit. We all thoughtit was maybe going to be a
couple months. And so when Isubmitted my application for
elite and I got accepted, I saidyes, this is what I'm gonna do.
I immediately signed up forpalmerton Elite and I said I
have this commitment now I can'tback down. Unfortunately, I
can't because the race got kidsI that the race got canceled. I
(20:16):
also had qualified for Worldtrifecta championships in
Sparta, Greece. So those gotpostponed to 2021, which now
have been postponed to 2022. Um,and it was devastating to say
the least. But then the virtualtrifecta happened. And I decided
(20:37):
to do that within 48 hours,because I thought to myself,
that's what an elite would tryto do, right and elite would try
to do this and push themselvesto get this done within a
certain amount of time, becausethat's really what a trifecta
weekend is. So as the for thelisteners that don't know this
(20:58):
Spartan also has these raceevents called trifecta,
weekends. And the weekends willconsist of a beast at the
beginning of the weekend, soSaturday, and then they'll have
a Super Sunday morning, and thenend the weekend with a spring.
So I did everything in reverse.
But I did it as those thattrifecta weekend. And it was one
(21:19):
of the hardest things I've everhad to do. But I also did not
feel as totally diminished. Iguess the word would be as I
normally would feel afterSpartan Race, because I don't
know about you after the virtualbut after the virtual for me the
half marathon, I felt like amillion bucks, I was like I'm on
(21:42):
air right now, I can keep going,I feel like and then I know,
it's like, if I kept going,wouldn't that be a good idea.
Richard Conner (21:54):
Especially if you just finished a sprint and
the super, you know, ahead ofthat, that would
Demetra Dentes (21:59):
exactly so and so after that I kind of have to
re train myself, I did not thinkthat I was elite material
anymore. Um, so from all myraces this past year, I
registered an age group, justbecause I thought it would be
easiest that way. And, you know,just was happy to be like racing
(22:25):
again, that's where my mind wasat. And I could build myself
back up into the racer that Iwanted to be, um, I then
qualified for the age groupNorth American championships
that took place in Tahoe. And Ithat race was very difficult to
(22:46):
say the least. But I was veryhappy to go do it, it was
definitely changed because therewas no water obstacles because
of the drought. And there wasalso no fire jump because of the
fire ban. So it was a lotdifferent than the normal races
but it was again, so much fun.
Definitely life changing. And ifI qualify as an elite I will
(23:07):
definitely be going back
Richard Conner (23:11):
Oh, what a wonderful story well again,
congratulations on everythingthat you've accomplished even
through the pandemic through theheartbreak of races being
cancelled, which you know, Iknow I was just like wait a
minute, I just bought thistrifecta pass and I had my mind
set on doing this there's thesprint, super, and beast and all
that just you know went away soso hats off to you for
(23:32):
everything you've done, youknow, all the way through this
pandemic.
Demetra Dentes (23:36):
Yeah, thanks so much you too.
Richard Conner (23:38):
So tell me a little bit about like how have
you kept yourself motivated liketo keep going to keep training
to keep pushing yourself becauseyou know, we're living in a time
where this is not normal, right?
Where we're in a situation wherewe have different pressures in
life and and being isolated andthere's just a lot going on, you
know, over the last 18 months solike how have you kind of stayed
(24:00):
motivated or you know, kind ofkept up with your fitness?
Demetra Dentes (24:06):
If I may, perfectly honest, did not at
first, um, when I found outabout everything that happened,
like trifecta, worlds beingpushed off 2020 itself was okay,
because I think I was had thisthing in my mind, as most people
did in 2020 that they said,Alright, this is only gonna last
(24:28):
so long. We're gonna get into2021 and things are gonna be
normal again. Well, I don't knowabout anyone else, but for me,
they did not feel normal. Withearly 2021 I just got into a new
relationship. So I had gained alot of this like comfort,
(24:50):
weight, if you will, from beingin a relationship and like not
feeling like you really have totry so hard to look so good. You
just Want to eat in New York anddo things, and I had gained
almost 15 pounds. And then I hadregistered for all of my races
(25:11):
for this year, and thought,alright, I should get on the
horn, I should start like,running again, I should start
doing this. And then I went tothe gym, and I feel like things
are exponentially harder to do.
It was insane. Because it eventhough like 15 pounds, like in
the broad picture, is it a lot,it can feel like a lot. It's
(25:36):
it's, it's very strange to feelthat difference when you go and
work out when you go run. Andfor me, I was trying to go run
every single day, at least forlike a little bit, it wasn't
going to be like hour long runslike I do now. But there are
going to be maybe 10 minutes onthe treadmill, 20 minutes on the
(25:57):
treadmill, if that likesomething to just keep me
moving. And I had to work tolose all that weight again. And
it was very motivating for me,just because I knew I wanted to
do a lot better. I wanted to getback to that elite status, when
I was getting back to events.
(26:19):
And so if I want it to be thatelite status, I used to feel
good running again. And in orderto feel good running again, I
need to get back into the shapethat I need to be. And I think
my biggest motivation was that Iknew what that felt like. I knew
how I felt during that superclean race where I had to do and
(26:39):
did not do any burpees. And Iwanted to feel like that again,
and get to become even better.
And to not have to do anyburpees for surfers. On my
upcoming venues. I mean,sometimes it does happen like
Yeah, but you know, it's good toknow that I have that
motivation, just because I'vedone it before it makes you
(27:02):
think you've done it once.
There's nothing to say that youcan't do it again, you can
definitely do it again, youknow, so for me, I think the
motivating factor was that I haddone it before. And so I was
planning on doing it again. AndI still have that plan. In my
mind. I'm just also currently alaw student goes both ways, you
(27:25):
have to make sure that yourcomforts and stress stress
levels are met. But you alsowant to make sure you are racing
so racing properly. So
Richard Conner (27:37):
very cool. Very cool. Well, thank you for
sharing that. Kind of as we aswe wrap up here. Is there
anything that you want to sharewith the Inspire Virtual Runs
community to help inspire themto start running, or continue
running or even restart theirjourney. Um,
Demetra Dentes (27:53):
I would say for anyone that is starting to run,
don't think that all everyonewas born a runner. Because not
everyone was born a runner, Iwas definitely not born a
runner. I started by putting ona pair of sneakers and trying to
run three miles ended up runningto and stopped about eight
(28:16):
times. I think it's easy to saythat it is difficult to start
running if you are not a inborn, amazing runner. But if you
just start from somewhere andyour body will adapt, your body
will become a better runner overtime. And it does take some
(28:37):
time. So be patient, for peoplethat are restarting, which I
think is a big thing right nowbecause of the pandemic. And
because of all this time thatpeople have really felt
unmotivated to do much. We areopening back up, we are starting
to do events. Again, all thesecool experiences are coming back
(29:00):
up to fruition. I say justcommit to an event, even if it's
like a 5k even if it's a sprint,Spartan, or even if it's just a
road race, something to put yourmind into that train of thought
to say okay, I should probablystart getting back in the
running game, we should probablystart maybe doing some dead
(29:23):
hands like stuff, stuff likethat. And I think that literally
starting with like the smallestcommitment can be the start of
the best journey of your lifeand it's going to be difficult.
It always is difficult to start.
But you'll be grateful that youstarted today instead of
starting tomorrow because anykind of any kind of advantage
(29:45):
that you may have of a day or anextra training session will help
you in whatever event that youdo decide to do. So.
Richard Conner (29:55):
sage advice for listeners. Thank you so much
Demetra. Thank you again foryour time. Thank you for sharing
your story. How can thecommunity follow you find you
and follow your journey online.
Demetra Dentes (30:10):
So you can follow me on Instagram, which my
handle is dem d e, m, as in Maryunderscore dentres, d e n t e s,
as you'll see my name spelled.
And then you can also follow meon my YouTube channels, just as
my name is spelled here on theepisode to meet your dad test. I
do post a lot of race recaps andsuch like that training
(30:31):
sessions, all of the above. Sodefinitely come find me on
social media. If you have anyquestions, let me know.
Richard Conner (30:41):
Thank you so much. So I will include that in
the show notes, show notes. Justonce again, just want to say
thank you so much for coming onthe show. Good luck with your
upcoming races, and especiallynext year. And you know, have a
great day.
Demetra Dentes (30:55):
Thank you so much here as well.
Richard Conner (30:58):
Wow, such a great conversation with Demetra.
And I'd like to share my threekey takeaways from the
conversation. The first one ishow she turned a negative into a
positive. She was told shecouldn't do something. And she
set out to do it despite themental and physical challenges.
The second thing is she didn'tlet obstacles get in the way.
(31:22):
She didn't let the pandemic getin the way of doing her races.
She turned to virtual and stayedactive to reach her goals. And
third, is she talked aboutstarting with the smallest
commitment and building on that.
And eventually you'll get towhere you want to go. So I hope
you really enjoyed this episodeas much as I did. Please check
(31:44):
us out atinspirevirtualruns.com, you'll
have all the latest episodes, aswell as links to our social
media platforms. So thanks againfor listening, and have a great
day.
Intro/Outro (32:01):
That's it for this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs
Podcast. If you enjoyed thispodcast, please leave a review.
Also, be sure to click thesubscribe button so you don't
miss an episode. Thanks forlistening.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.