Media Releases
Reaching The Finish Line
November 14, 2007
Dakota County Technical College retail services supervisor Julie Balamut finished her 22nd marathon when she crossed the finish line of the Twin Cities Marathon this last October.
Balamut and her husband, Chris, ran together and finished 20 minutes apart. Despite the unusual heat that day, Julie finished the marathon in 6:01.54.
"I was quite proud of how we did," she said.
Balamut has worked for DCTC for almost a year now, and has spent most of her career working in the academic arena. With so much marathon and higher education background, she has discovered that parallels exist between the two.
"I find that the goals I have to set for myself in order to prepare for a marathon translate into the goals that students have to set for themselves to get their degree. Both involve commitment and a lot of ups and downs, but getting a medal or diploma as a symbol of a job well done is worth it," said Balamut. "I usually wear my finisher shirt the day after I run a marathon because it usually strikes up some great conversations with students and co-workers."
Balamut has found that training for and running marathons also helps her professionally.
"Running clears my head when a work issue threatens to overtake all my time. Especially on weekends when I need to decompress and relax," Balamut said. "Plus, I find that when I run early in the morning, it allows me to have time to think about and plan what I need to get done during the day."
Her first marathon was the 1999 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn. As soon as she started running it, she knew she had found her sport.
"It was something else when I hit mile 22 in Duluth. I walked away overwhelmed by what I had accomplished and being very grateful for having had the opportunity to meet so many tremendous people," said Balamut. "Marathon running has really given me a lot."
Since that experience, she has tried to run at least two marathons a year and has done as many as four in one year.
Balamut has run in nine Grandmas', seven Twin Cities, two New York's, a Las Vegas, a Cincinnati, a Chicago and a Rochester, N.Y marathon. She would like to run in the Fargo, Napa Valley and Whistle Stop marathon.
For now, Balamut is concentrating on finishing her master's degree in theology at the College of St. Catherine and maintaining her endurance level for her next marathon.