We’ve got another fun series to present to you guys: Ambassador Features! Every month, we will highlight one of our AWESOME ambassadors. To kick it off, we have Monica Mullins! If you are in the participants group or search our hashtag #texasdistancechallenge on Instagram, you will see the awesome stuff Monica is up to. We sat down with Monica to get a little more info on what makes her so amazing!

TDC: How long have you been cycling / running? 

MM: I have been seriously cycling for 16 years. I have been seriously running for 14 years.

TDC: What initially attracted you to cycling / running? 

MM: I LOVED riding my bike as a little kid growing up in the 1970s in small town Oklahoma.  I even entered some kids’ community bike races.  However, no one in my community really rode bikes for anything more than leisure at the time.  And, when I turned 16 and got a drivers license, my bike faded from view. I gained weight in my teen years and spent most of my twenties and thirties being significantly overweight as my father had been prior to his early death at age 36 due to health complications related to his weight.  I had a bit of a mid-life crisis when I turned 39.  I weighed 250 lbs, was inactive, focused most of my attention on work, and ate out / ate fast food A LOT!  Miraculously, I didn’t have any health problems, but the prospect of turning 40 and being unhealthy got my attention.  While I never expected what ended up happening, it was an incredible turning point in my life.  I lost weight and fell in love with cycling.  I was part of a local club for years and rode more centuries than I can count!  Cycling comes so naturally to me!  And people noticed.  After five years, I ended joining and being President of the first all women’s cycling team in Oklahoma.  I raced for three years and it was a total blast!  At the conclusion of my first season (Sept. 2010), I was hit by a pickup truck while on a training ride.  I was thrown 45 feet; fractured my spine, nose, and orbital floor; and spent several days on a nuero floor in an Oklahoma City hospital.  Recovery was slow but I was back racing the next season!

Despite running track in elementary school to some success, I hated running for decades!  I knew it was good cross training and had friends who continually told me that they thought I would be a good runner.  I was tricked into being on a marathon relay team for the OKC Memorial in 2006 and the rest is sort of history!   To hold myself accountable to run some, I began competing in duathlons.  To this day, I would say those have been my absolute favorite events.  And, as a result, I ended up training with a group of Ironman Triathletes who needed someone to help them with their cycling.  Of course, they helped me become a better runner. After my cycling accident, I fell in love with running.  The accident resulted in my wanting to prove that I couldn’t be stopped!  I competed in a 12 hour endurance cycling event and set the course record for men, women, and teams!  And…over the course of about 14 months, I ran 7 half marathons!

I moved to the Dallas area in 2015.  I was slowing down.  Riding recreationally.  Running a little less intensely. By 2018, I was dealing with physical challenges that I assumed were related to my 2010 accident. I was fortunate to find a medical massage therapist and get connected with a hip surgeon who I believe is a miracle worker!  I had hip surgery in January 2019.  My hip was a complete disaster! I went into surgery hoping that I might be able to run some 5Ks and ride my bike some after recovering.  In November of 2019, I ran a half marathon!  And another one in March 2020!  While I’m slower than I used to be, I’m healthier and more fit.  I’m running significantly more mileage than I ever have and feeling great doing it!  In March, I began challenging myself by doing a Covid Run Streak!  Who knew that 128 days later, I would still be streaking!  I’ve decided that I will continue to run every day until a vaccine is available to the general public.

The Texas Distance Challenge is a DREAM COME TRUE for me!  I LOVE a HUGE challenge but know that I can no longer run or ride LONG distances in a single day.  This ten month challenge is just what I needed and I didn’t even know it!  Taking on the Solo Run the Crossing is helping me continue my Covid run streak and challenging me even further.  In addition, I was able to recruit a completely random group for a cycling team to Loop the State.  Our team is Six Degrees Cyclists because the team is all connected to me even if they don’t know each other.  I love that I have both a personal and a group challenge in this.

TDC: What attracted you the most to TDC when you decided to become an ambassador?

MM: The Texas Distance Challenge is a DREAM COME TRUE for me!  I LOVE a HUGE challenge but know that running or riding LONG distances in a single day is difficult for me both due to schedule and the limitations of my body.  This ten month challenge is just what I needed and I didn’t even know it!  Taking on the Solo Run the Crossing is helping me continue my Covid run streak and challenging me even further.  In addition, I was able to recruit a completely random group for a cycling team to Ride the Loop.  Our team is Six Degrees Cyclists because the team is all connected to me even if they don’t know each other.  I love that I have both a personal and a group challenge in this.

As for wanting to be an Ambassador, it is my hope that my story can encourage and challenge others!  I want people to know that change is possible.  I believe that daily choices turn into habits and can be life changing.  I am a different person than I was sixteen years ago because of running and cycling.  I had to start small but be willing to push myself.  And…others believed in and encouraged me.  If I can do all of the things that I have accomplished through cycling and running, I believe anyone can!

TDC: What personal goals do you have throughout the course of the challenge? 

MM: While I created a team to Ride the Loop, I still have a goal for myself to get in the mileage that it would take to Ride the Crossing as my contribution to the team.  I’m also using this to support and encourage friends who were needing something to provide them with new habits related to fitness.  Most of them weren’t riding much or didn’t even have a functional bike.  And…three decided to also Run/Walk the Crossing!

I suspect that I will run more mileage than is required by the challenge.  My first goal for myself is to get 114 in the first month and I’m right on track for that!  Prior to my Covid Run Streak, I had only ever accomplished 100 miles of running in a single month a few times.  July will be my 4th consecutive month of 100 miles.  I suspect I will set a timeline for myself to finish the crossing early but have not yet determined a date. 

TDC: What external goals do you have for the challenge? (Maybe you have an affiliation or organization you are representing)

MM: I work for Baylor University at their Nursing School and attend Wilshire Baptist Church.  I know that regardless of what I am doing, I am representing those organizations. And, especially, I am supporting my nursing students and faculty colleagues as they prepare for and face this pandemic. I am running to stop Covid!  I want to keep my streak going until a vaccine is available for everyone!

TDC: In regards to running and cycling, how have you been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and how have you overcome it?

MM: Running and cycling have been the BEST thing about the pandemic for me.  It has been my companionship, sanctuary, and saving grace.  Thankfully I love to ride and run alone and do so routinely so that hasn’t bothered me.  As I mentioned above, I used the pandemic as a way to challenge my running through the run streak I’ve been doing for the past 128 days!

TDC: What advice do you have for those just entering the running / cycling world?

MM: Take it one step at a time.  Believe in yourself.  Challenge yourself.  Find friends / mentors who can encourage and push you! It’s easy to be intimidated by the running / cycling scene.  I read a lot to learn more about both sports and that gave me confidence.

TDC: Give us a fun fact about yourself. Quirky, interesting, weird, cool.. whatever!!

MM: I survived a hippo attack in Uganda!  Thankfully this was after I became a runner!  I was within 10 feet of a hippo who decided he was highly displeased with my presence.  He turned on me, locked eyes with me, snorted, stamped his feet, and charged.  All I could think was that I needed to run a pattern (like in football) to get out of his direct line of sight!  I had NO IDEA that hippos are so incredibly fast and kill more people on the continent of Africa than any other animal.  When it was over, one of my students who was a varsity basketball player said “I had no idea you could run that fast!”.  Neither did I!

You can follow Monica’s journey on instagram @Mojava88. Keep being awesome, Monica!

Tune in to our next Ambassador feature next month! Go get em’ y’all!

– TDC