SAULT STE. MARIE — Running has taken Dani Filipek many places and earned her numerous honors.
She was a D2 All-American and ran professionally - and now she is a world record holder.
“(Running) brought me and my husband together. It keeps us together. We have our own running business and we love to bring running to the community. Whether you’re walking, you’re running, or wheeling, you can do anything with running. It doesn’t have to be stereotypical running, but it promotes great health, mentally, physically, and emotionally,” said Dani Filipek.
The Filipeks spent three years coaching side by side at Lake Superior State before pivoting and opening their own company in the Sault called Yooper Running.
Dani Filipek is now 32 years old and a mother of three, but she never lost the spark to challenge herself.
“I was running with my kids and I said, ‘What’s going to give me a goal’? And I think as parents we lose our goals right? Because we are focused on everybody else. So I was like, what will keep me excited after postpartum? I’m going to be running with these kids all the time, so you know what? Lets go try to do something that has never been done before,” she said.
Filipek meant every word, and now her name will be going down in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest triple stroller mile-time in the mile division of the Detroit Marathon.
“It was so electric. It was so fun. The start and finish, it was a little bit of a slower course, (but) it was a mile,” she said. “However, the ‘Go Mama, Go’ is probably like my number one thing why I run. Still, it’s the coolest thing. It’s better than any record I’ve ever had. It’ll bring tears to my eyes because I just love being a mom.”
Filipek hopes to inspire other mothers to go chase their dreams.
“Go out and try something, even if it’s just 10 minutes. We (mothers) are real-life superheroes. So carve out some time for you,” she said.
