Avera Race Against Cancer: Austin Goss

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Follow updates as Austin Goss trains to run with the Dakota News Now team in the Avera Race Against Cancer May 13.

Austin Goss, Journalist, 26

Week one update:

I had a great week of training. On Sunday, I ran 14 miles outside because the weather was nice. I felt as good as I have in a long time running. Monday I ran a recovery run, and then Tuesday I did a four-mile tempo run. I went a little slower than my projected 5k pace for that, with a mile warm-up and cool-down. I took a rest day Wednesday, and then Thursday did an eight-mile run, with the mission being to keep my distance up. Throughout this week, I’ve mixed in some good weightlifting. However, I think moving forward I need to be more intentional about stretching more. Looking forward to the weather breaking and it being warm!

Bio

I have been an on and off runner for a long time. In fact, I ran a marathon and trained hard for it back in 2016, with the aim of qualifiying for the Boston Marathon. However, the day of the race it absolutely poured rain, thus setting me way back from my original goal time. Since then, I have run a few half marathons and the Army 10 Miler in Washington D.C. twice, but have fallen off more recently. My biggest struggle is that I am not a huge fan of running on the treadmill. But of course, with South Dakota winters, sometimes you are better off doing so!

Thus, I have been using the Avera 5k race, along with a few other endurance races in the late spring/early summer, to try and get back into running shape. I have always enjoyed running and working out more generally but have fallen off the wagon a bit. Sometimes to get back on the wagon, you just have to pick a race and go for it. My hope is that participating in the Avera 5k will help me to segue into some longer-distance races this summer.

I had the pleasure of attending the Avera 5k race as a spectator in 2022, and thought to myself what a fun road race it was with an important mission of raising money for cancer research. In addition to pursuing my own fitness goals, my hope is that we as a team at Dakota News Now can help bring more people out to the road race, and by extension, help raise more money for the cause.