Now that the end of the year has finally rolled around, most students are tired of the daily grind.

Junior Rena Black has switched up her usual activities and taken up marathon running as a new diversion from the norm. Black also shares her other interesting, varying from her love for the Japanese culture to her future running plans.

So when did you have the idea and start preparing for the half marathon you recently ran?
It was last fall I decided to start training for the marathon because I enjoy running and I don’t any team sports so I thought it was a good goal to go for. I’ve been running religiously basically every day ever since and have recently picked up cycling.

What were you feeling and thinking when you crossed the finish line of the half marathon?
I was so happy to be through! I felt really pretty well breathing wise but I literally had 8 blisters on my feet and it hurt a ton so I really just wanted it to be over but after I caught my breath and sat down i felt really proud of myself and the time I ran it in.

If you could pick anywhere in the world to travel where would you go?
Japan! It’s my dream to go there someday to see all the Pokémon stuff, Japanese culture, language, food, everything!

If you didn’t attend go to high school in Wildwood, MO what city or region of the country would you want to spend your high school years?
I would really like to live in Japan as a school student because they have the cutest uniforms and really good schools. Realistically though, I would probably choose somewhere in Colorado because I love the mountains and the outdoor activities you can do there.

Do you plan to try something new, like running a marathon, in the future?
Yes! My next plan is to do a duathlon which is a 10 km run, 20 km cycle ride and then a 5 km run. A true marathon will be farther in the future. I need to figure out how to avoid blisters first.