About Me

My name is Heather Knight, and I'm a 17 year old who loves to run! I have been in love with running since the time I was little. When my parents took me and my two siblings to the park, I would run and run until I could run no more. Anywhere we went, if there was a running game or activity, that's where I would be found.

When my older brother Rob and I were young, we used to play soccer almost every day in our backyard.  We used the trees as goals and would sometimes make up our own rules for our soccer games.  Being homeschooled was awesome because we could use any free time we had to go outside and play soccer.  

I never really ran consistently until about a year ago.  Up until then, I just ran when I had the opportunity, like in PE class or playing soccer or frisbee with friends.  What got me really interested in running was my Fitness for Life class at Utah Valley University (UVU), during the Fall 2012 semester.  We were required to exercise at least three times a week for 20 minutes or longer.  I began running at a local track several times a week.  When I heard of an upcoming 5K, I decided to try it out. It was the Pride of the Valley scholarship run at UVU on September 22, 2012. 

My friend Allison Chapa (left) and I just before the Pride of the Valley race started.

My high school, Utah County Academy of Sciences (UCAS), then hosted a scholarship fun run on April 13, 2013. Instead of a 5K, it was a 6K because it was set up to have the runners race around a city block twice.  This distance was 0.7 miles farther than a regular 5K, so in order to have the starting line and finish line be at the same spot, they just made it a 6K.  I didn't train at all for this race.  When I was training for the Pride of the Valley race, I didn't notice anything in my performance.  Since it was my first race, I had nothing to base it on.  When I did this 6K, I hadn't run for about four months, but I didn't think training for it was necessary.  Therefore, my body wasn't ready to run that much again.  I had to keep stopping to walk out stomach cramps and get my heavy breathing back under control.  It showed me that running consistently for weeks up until the race is very important, even if we don't realize it at the time.

I just finished my first 6k, the scholarship fun run!

After this race, I didn't have time for running because I was busy studying for finals and stressing about school.  And I didn't go running at all this past summer either.  I started running again at the end of last month, August.  I have gone running at least twice a week since then.  Even among the heavy school load and working about 20 hours a week, I still find time to go running.  Actually, let me rephrase that.  I make time to go running.  There are some days that I want to sleep in just a little longer, but I choose to get up and go running because I know how healthy it is for me.  I notice a difference in so many areas of my life.  I'm keeping up my grades because I am able to concentrate better.  I feel happier most of the time.  And most importantly, my self-esteem has increased because I know I am doing something great for my body.  Overall, I have learned that running can be very effective and so amazing.  If you're a runner and you ever feel discouraged, don't quit!  It's worth the hard work!