Bloomfield city attorney Ryan Lane reinforces perseverance amid COVID-19 by running laps

AZTEC — Ryan Lane sympathizes with San Juan County’s youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which derailed life as they know it — from in-person learning and sports to seeing friends.

So he found a way to show them, symbolically, that they can overcome such trying times.

Already an avid runner, logging more than 1,600 miles in 2020, the Bloomfield city attorney and newly-elected state representative hit the track at Aztec's Fred Cook Memorial Stadium on Saturday with plans to run a whopping 400 laps, equaling 100 miles.

“I just want to encourage them in that,” said Lane, who also owns the Vanilla Moose ice cream shop and a law clinic in Aztec. “I don’t know that you can train to run 100 miles… A big part of it is ‘are you willing to suffer for a short period of time?’ You just have to run the mile that’s in front of you.”

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And there’s more to it than just overcoming the physical strain.

Lane began running at 5 a.m. Saturday, continued running into the evening hours and finished the grueling task early Sunday morning.

Lane, who braved the cold and took nutrition breaks every 10 miles, said there’s also the monotony that comes will running 400 laps, which represents the mental strain brought on by the pandemic.

His goal was simple: teaching and reinforcing perseverance, especially during the pandemic.

For Lane, the bigger picture is worth the sacrifice.

“I think it’s a good way to finish out what’s been an otherwise tough year,” Lane said. “Even if it just helps one student, it’d be worth all the pain and suffering.”

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Matt Hollinshead covers sports for the Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4577, mhollinshead@daily-times.com and on Twitter at @MattH_717.

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