“Running didn’t just change my life. It gave me my life back.”
Some runners are chasing podiums. Others are chasing personal records. Then there are runners like Michele Perez, who discovered something far more valuable than a faster finish time.
She found herself.
Today, Michele is a Seven Star finisher, has completed twenty marathons, raised more than $14,000 for charity, and has inspired countless runners through her positivity. But twelve years ago, she wasn’t thinking about marathons at all.
In fact, she hated running.
“I played basketball and softball growing up,” Michele laughs. “Running was just something you did because your coach made you.”
Life looked completely different back then. She had recently become a mother, and while everyone around her saw a happy family, Michele was quietly struggling with postpartum depression.
“I loved my daughter. I loved being a mom. But I carried this heaviness that I couldn’t explain.”
Most of her friends had children who were already young adults, leaving her feeling isolated during one of the biggest life transitions she had ever experienced. Her doctor suggested therapy, but it was another friend’s advice that ultimately changed everything.
“You give so much of yourself to your family,” her friend told her. “You need something that’s just for you.”
That simple conversation became the beginning of a journey chapters ahead of anything either of them could have imagined.
Finding More Than Miles
Searching through Facebook, Michele looked for activities that would simply get her out of the house. Tennis crossed her mind, but eventually she joined a local running club—not because she wanted to become a competitive runner, but because she wanted community.
“I wasn’t looking to race,” she says. “I just wanted fresh air, conversations, and to meet people.”
From the very first group run, something clicked.
“It felt like home.”
The miles became therapy. Weekend runs turned into post-run brunches, new friendships, and eventually New York Road Runners races. Five kilometers became ten. Ten became a half marathon.
Within a year of lacing up her first pair of running shoes, Michele found herself participating in the New York City Marathon. But not in the way most people would expect.
Her First Marathon Wasn’t About Her
While many runners dream about crossing their first marathon finish line for themselves, Michele’s first 26.2 miles were spent guiding an athlete with disabilities through New York City.
“The marathon time isn’t mine,” she says. “It’s his.”
Running beside a 60-year-old athlete from another state, Michele wasn’t focused on splits or finishing times. She was focused on helping someone else achieve their dream.
“It’s still one of the most meaningful moments I’ve had in running.”
That selflessness would become a defining theme throughout her running journey.
“I believe in paying it forward. The world doesn’t revolve around me. If I can help someone else experience something special, I want to do that.”
Running Became a Family Legacy
When Michele eventually ran her own first official solo marathon at Disney World, the goal wasn’t a personal record. She wanted her family waiting at the finish line. More specifically, she wanted her young daughter to watch her cross it.
“I wanted to hand her my medal and my banana afterward and say, ‘Look what Mommy did.'”
Those moments planted seeds that continue to grow today. Her daughters—now 13 and 9—run races of their own, proudly collecting medals and cheering on other runners.
“They’ve learned that it’s important to support people,” Michele says. “Sometimes it’s just giving someone a high-five or cheering for a complete stranger. Those are lessons I hope they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
For Michele, the medals matter far less than the example she’s setting. Her daughters have watched their mother wake up before sunrise to train, travel to races, and exhibit discipline, commitment, kindness, and joy—all through the lens of running.
Chasing Stars Without Losing Joy
Like many marathoners, Michele eventually caught the World Marathon Majors bug. Lottery after lottery, one acceptance at a time, she slowly collected Chicago, London, Tokyo, Berlin, New York, and finally Boston.
Boston, however, almost didn’t happen. Unable to qualify by time, Michele applied to multiple charities before finally receiving a Team for Kids bib only seven weeks before registration closed.
There was just one challenge: she had to raise $5,000.
“I told myself, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’ll make it happen.'”
She did—in only ten days. Since then, Michele has raised more than $14,000 for Team for Kids, supporting youth running programs and community initiatives through New York Road Runners. Today, the same organization that helped shape her running journey now benefits deeply from her generosity.
Racing Her Own Way
Despite completing twenty marathons, Michele doesn’t fit the stereotype of an obsessive marathoner chasing every possible second. In fact, she often stops during races. If friends traveled to cheer for her, she’ll hug them, high-five spectators, and sometimes even pause for photos.
“My friends waited hours for me,” she says. “The least I can do is stop for a few seconds to thank them.”
That philosophy has kept something many runners eventually lose: pure joy.
“I’ve never experienced burnout,” she says. She believes the reason is simple: “I don’t put that kind of pressure on myself.”
Could she run faster? “Absolutely.” But speed has never been worth sacrificing happiness. “If I improve by two or three minutes, I’m thrilled. I just want to enjoy the experience.”
Learning Mental Toughness
That doesn’t mean Michele hasn’t evolved as a runner. One of her biggest breakthroughs came after Berlin, where she unexpectedly had to walk over twelve miles after losing contact with the companion she’d started with.
“I realized I didn’t know how to run alone. I didn’t have that mental toughness.”
Rather than seeing it as a failure, she treated it as a lesson. She began intentionally training by herself. Long solo runs became opportunities to strengthen not only her legs but her mind.
“The way you want to race is the way you have to train.”
Today, she welcomes solitary miles because she knows they prepare her for the moments when only her own mind can carry her forward.
Health Is Her Greatest Finish Line
Beneath every medal, every passport stamp, and every marathon lies Michele’s deepest motivation. She was diagnosed with diabetes at twenty-seven. Combined with postpartum depression and being overweight at the time, she realized her future depended on making different choices.
“My why is simple,” she says. “I want to live a long life.”
She wants to watch her daughters grow up. She hopes one day to meet her grandchildren. She wants to keep traveling, learning about new cultures, exploring museums, and experiencing the world one marathon at a time.
Running became the vehicle that connected all of those dreams. It improved her health, strengthened her mind, gave her lifelong friendships, and introduced her children to kindness and resilience. It transformed someone who once hated running into someone who can’t imagine life without it.
Your Story, Your Why
Michele’s story isn’t really about marathon medals or World Major stars. It’s about discovering that healing sometimes begins with one small step outside the front door. It’s about finding community when life feels lonely. It’s about raising daughters who understand that cheering for others is just as important as crossing finish lines yourself.
And perhaps most importantly, it’s a reminder that success doesn’t always have to be measured by the clock. Sometimes success is simply arriving at the finish line with your joy still fully intact. Because in Michele Perez’s story, that is the greatest victory of all.
