The Boy Who Inspired Dakotah

The Boy Who Inspired Dakotah

On August 11, 29-year-old Dakotah Lindwurm finished the Women’s Olympic Marathon in 12th place with a time of 2:26:44. She was the top American finisher.

While running the marathon at a 5:36 pace, Dakotah was supported by a boy who was 10 years old and ran alongside her for several minutes screaming “Go, Dakotah! Go, Dakotah!” After the race, Dakotah wanted to give the boy a high-five for the inspiration that he provided her. She was initially distracted by a proposal from her boyfriend, but later put a request to find the boy on Instagram.

Whether or not you plan to support someone running a marathon, here are 3 ways to use the boy who inspired Dakotah as inspiration.

Simple things can motivate: There was nothing complicated or complex about how the boy inspired Dakotah. He simply said ‘Go Dakotah’ repeatedly. Just like the 10-year old boy, instead of coming up with a complex strategy to motivate, simple words of encouragement often provide the best fuel.

The world tends to give us what we offer it: When Dakotah runs she typically smiles broadly and gestures to the crowd for large cheers. She’s even done the macarena during a race. Since Dakotah has fun while running, it is easy for kids to support her. Just like Dakotah emits good vibes then received inspiration from the boy, we can all benefit from giving off good energy to the world since that is likely what we get back in return.

Sometimes we don’t know the impact we have: The 10-year-old boy didn’t know that he would inspire Dakotah while running alongside her and screaming words of encouragement. Similar to the boy, we don’t always know the impact that are words and actions have.

Thank you to the boy and to Dakotah for inspiring us. Let’s have a great week!