Mandi Mitchell, who is 49 years young, says she’s always been active in regards to exercise. But it wasn’t until she witnessed her husband excel in and develop a passion for running that she decided to give it a try. 

“I never did any sort of running, so I started training,” she says. “My first race was a half marathon.” 

After four half marathons, she ran her first full in Tulsa in 2016. 

“I swore I would never do another but when the opportunity came for me to do Chicago without having to qualify, I just couldn’t pass that up.”

So, in 2018 she found herself running the Chicago Marathon, her proudest fitness accomplishment to date. 

“It is such a landmark and bucket list marathon for so many runners,” she says. “And though I didn’t qualify for it, I was able to get in under corporate sponsorship. I wanted to take it all in; 45 thousand runners, a lot of selfies with the crowd and I had a PR.”

Even with her success in running, Mandi’s favorite way to exercise is CrossFit. 

“CrossFit has become my exercise of choice and my favorite kind of workout,” she says. “Everything about it: the community, support and how strong you feel after.” 

One part of her workouts she could do without is the stationary assault bike. 

“It’s something I dread every time I see it programmed.”

Mandi’s next fitness goal is to be able to do “Murph” without scaling. She also wants to participate in an Olympic lifting or CrossFit competition. 

Along the way, she’ll continue to get her workouts in because she knows how important they are for her mental and physical health. 

“Everything is better when I stay active.”

Her best advice for others? 

“Don’t be afraid to try something new. Start with the dream and finish with heart.”