Janna Mitsos's story
"I told myself I would focus, give everything I had on the track and leave it out there one last time before starting my life in dental school."
Hello! My name is Janna Mitsos, I am 27 years old and I have been running competitively since age 8.
I took it to the collegiate level and received a running scholarship at the University of New Mexico.
At New Mexico I found most of my success in the 5k distance, making it to the preliminary round of the NCAA D1 championships in the 5k.
With my success, also came failures. I came in and had an amazing freshman year season.
Sophomore and junior year I struggled. I couldn’t really quite get back to the times I had run when I was a freshman. Part of it was due to being anemic at altitude and part of it was a shift in coaching.
At the end of the day, those 2 years were very frustrating. I took my failures way too hard and mentally got myself stuck in a vicious cycle every time I stepped foot on the track. If I wasn’t running 80 seconds per 400 or faster, I would lose focus and give up.
My senior year I collected myself. I decided that it was going to be my last year running. I was focusing on getting my professional life together and applying to go to dental school.
I established balance in my life, and I enjoyed the process and took my iron. My senior year cross-country season, I was on the rise.
I gained my 6k XC PR, but I felt short of being on the top 10 team in the nation at nationals because I was runner #8 on my team.
I told myself I would focus, give everything I had on the track and leave it out there one last time before starting my life in dental school.
That year, I ran a 20 second PR in my 5k and broke my old PR from my freshman year.
I had never felt so proud of myself for overcoming my mental challenges. I decided I owed myself a break after my fantastic last season as a collegiate.
That year, I ran a 20 second PR in my 5k and broke my old PR from my freshman year.
I had never felt so proud of myself for overcoming my mental challenges. I decided I owed myself a break after my fantastic last season as a collegiate.
I entered the world of dentistry and focused on my studies. Today, I am back into running, and I run for Second City Track Club in Chicago.
I still take running very seriously but I don’t worry as much about my paces. I try to always remember the balance and the process that got me my 5k PR my final year as a collegiate.
