BONNERS FERRY, Idaho — A Bonners Ferry woman is competing in Bloomsday for her first time to prove her childhood teacher wrong.
At the age of 13, Nikki Blockhan's teacher told her she wasn't cut out for running.
“The teacher pulled me aside and said this is not for you, and you should just stick to what you're good at and not do track," Blockhan said. "From that moment, I just told myself that I am a terrible runner, and I could never run.”
That one comment stuck with her for 30 years. That is until recently, when she and her family faced unexpected trials and illness. It all pushed Blockhan to reflect and rewrite her past beliefs, starting with running.
“I'm like, 'let's just try and see if I can do this,'” Blockhan said.
She started training in January. Her preferred route is the trails in the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge.
“If I do the whole route, it’s about six miles," Blockhan said. "Sometimes I do the whole route and sometimes I just do part of it.”
With any kind of training, you’ve got to start somewhere. For Blockhan, that meant running about 2 minutes at a time. But now she can do 12 minutes.
“I actually got really teary eyed the first time I was able to do the 12 minutes because it’s a huge feat for me," she said. "This is something I never thought I’d be able to do.”
She documented her journey on Instagram to look back at where she started and how far she's come. While tracking her progress on a running app, Blockhan shared her milestones. Both the highs and the lows.
“There are days where it just seems to be really, really easy. Then, there are other days where it feels like it’s really stretching me—pushing my limits,” Blockhan said.
Registering for her first Bloomsday pushed Blockhan to stick with running. Months later, she’s now not only prepared for the big race, she’s also changed her mind about running.
“Here I am now and I actually have found that I absolutely love running," Blockhan said. "I genuinely get excited to get up in the morning and go running. Which I never thought that I would say.”
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