By Sergio RuizCórdova
Many of you, AWWareness readers, may know that I am a runner. I never had good coordination for team sports, so I started running at a young age and it has been part of me for most of my life. To my relatives and friends, running is a part of my identity, and in Auburn for more than two decades I have been a member of our local running group AORTA. Regularly, the AORTA webmaster posts maps with different distance routes for our systematic Saturday run, and we take turns placing drinks at designated water stops along the route. In addition, the website posts results of races, articles and videos about running.
If you have ever wondered how the physical and mental skills built by running support environmental monitoring, read on!
Environmental Monitoring and Mental Skills
At the end of December 2025 one of the AORTA website’s posted articles focused on the mental skills every runner needs, especially when considering running long distances like a marathon. A marathon is 26.2 miles, and the consensus is that it is not just the physical challenge, but the runner’s mindset that greatly and directly influences whether the runner finishes the race or not. Running a marathon can be 90% mental; it is about regulating effort, staying calm under pressure, and sticking to a plan even when discomfort rises.
But not everyone needs or wants to run a marathon; and that is okay. Yet, everybody should consider walking and staying somehow in touch with nature. Research shows that being outside and experiencing nature can also improve our physical wellness (reducing cortisol levels, muscle tension, and demands on our cardiovascular systems, lowers heart rate and blood pressure) as well as our mental health (improving our thinking, reasoning, and other mental abilities, decreases anxiety levels and helps us sleep better). Everybody should be passionate about nature, and water monitoring is an opportunity and an option. And if it makes you feel some type of solitude or pressure, find a companion to go with you on those outdoor trips.
As an AWW environmental monitor and runner, I can see similarities between being a runner and being a water monitor. People believe that environmental monitors absolutely need strong mental skills, including attention to detail, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, to ensure the accurate collection and documentation of environmental data, while sometimes dealing with challenging situations to work effectively in varied, sometimes harsh, environments. There are mental skills needed to become a faithful water monitor, just like those to run a marathon. And those mental skills needed for race day usually also help us in everyday life too, like breaking down big tasks at work, staying calm under stress, being resilient through setbacks, and being reliable to make time for things we enjoy, like going water monitoring. Resilience is more than the ability to resist; it is also the ability to reinvent ourselves, to continue moving forward, to persist step by step, towards accomplishing our goals.
Conducting regular long-term water monitoring, like running a marathon, which many say is more like a metaphor for life than just a physical challenge; it transcends physical prowess, it’s a symbol of resilience, perseverance, and of human will to overcome adversity. Every water analysis a monitor completes is like each mile you run; it is a lesson in resilience, in overcoming obstacles, in embracing discomfort, and persevering despite fatigue and pain. Resilience is built in those moments of doubt, of finding excuses, of giving up. Each monitoring event we complete should be seen as an act of courage, commitment, and determination to ourselves, to the monitoring group, to nature, and to our watershed. It should remind us that failure is not an option, but that each visit is an opportunity to increase our connection with our water bodies, stream, lake or river, to learn and grow around nature.
The running world has all kinds of people: sprinters, runners who prefer 5 k or 10 k races, others who like running half and full marathons, and ultramarathoners. These last ones are endurance runners who specialize in races exceeding the traditional marathon distance. They are known for profound mental toughness, high-volume training, and tackling diverse challenges from desert heat to mountain elevation. They are characterized by experience, perseverance, and a unique approach to pain management and nutrition, often starting with standard marathons before progressing to longer distances. Similarly, in AWW we have and have had monitors of all types. About 1,000 individuals monitored for one year, and 1,300 monitored for 2-5 years. However, over 200 individuals have monitored for 10 years or more, over 30 monitors have done it for 20 years or more, and we have three elite ultra monitors who have monitored more than 30 years. Like ultramarathoners, these ultramonitors also have the distinctiveness of the experience and perseverance, and maybe they also have a unique approach to coping with monotony and boredom, through mindfulness and acceptance.
During your lifetime as an environmental monitor, like in running a race or other instances in life, the unexpected will arise in the form of obstacles or excuses; setbacks will come, bad weather, or simply the possibility of finding —or making time. Fatigue will hit. Doubt will creep in. The walls we encounter, whether mental or physical, are opportunities for growth. Because most marathoners do not quit, they adapt, they push through, and they find a way to keep moving. Because true success is not about speed, it is about perseverance, and AWW water monitors should also think that way. We, as environmental monitors, should also adapt, or find a way to adapt, to be creative, and keep doing it. Environmental stewardship and water monitoring must become a habit, because when something becomes automatic — just what we do — it’s much easier to follow through than something we must think about all the time.
Therefore, the water monitoring mentality should be similar to the marathon running mentality; built on discipline, patience, and resilience. As water monitors, we succeed by staying consistent, pacing ourselves, and trusting the process. Some monitoring events will feel easy, others will test our limits, but every time we visit a monitoring site and conduct environmental testing, it is proof of our strength and hope for life and nature. As water monitors, we must build a strong relationship with nature and our water body by showing up consistently over time. With each visit and monitoring event, our relationship with the creek is enhanced and intensified. And like in all relationships, it is patience and resilience to keep showing up, even when things get complicated, that makes them last.
Whichever your passions are, we at AWW hope you can build a passion for water monitoring like that of a marathon runner, to do what you want to do, coupled with determination and endurance. The holidays we just celebrated are a time for joy, connection, and relaxation. Scheduling a day or two each month to conduct water monitoring should be like a holiday, and just like running does for runners, water monitoring should enhance in us those feelings we get on a holiday, not detract from them. It should be about what the journey to that water body does for us, because it is a spiritual journey. So, whether we are starting on mile one or are on mile twenty, in a race, water monitoring, or in life, let us keep in mind that it’s not about how fast we go; it is about keeping going and refusing to stop.
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