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CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee
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Communicators Outside the Lines Feature Series
This is the next profile in a series entitled
Communicators Outside the Lines: Better Yourself, Better Your Community produced by the CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee. Read past profiles at
CoSIDA.com/CommunicatorsOTL.
WE NEED YOUR IDEAS!
If you have any ideas for this series, which will revolve around CoSIDA member volunteerism and health and wellness, please contact Goodwill and Wellness Committee chair
Megan Jameson, St. Edward's University Associate AD for Marketing and Communications, at
mhardin@stedwards.edu.
Cody Soto: 'Running has always been my avenue'
Baylor, Director of Social Media & Digital Engagement
by A.J. O'Hagan – Yeshiva University, Sports Information Director
CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee Member
To donate to Cody’s fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, click on this link: http://heroes.stjude.org/codys1stmarathon
Cody Soto has a lot on his plate. He serves as the Director of Social Media & Digital Engagement for the Baylor University Athletics Department, a role that is like two full time jobs at once. Despite all the hours he puts in the office, he is dedicating a lot of time to a meaningful cause: training to run a marathon to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The 26.2-mile race takes place on December 5, in San Antonio, just 30 minutes away from his hometown of Poth, Texas.
Usually, people with a lot of experience running participate in marathons, people who have been running their entire lives. Soto has a different path towards training for a marathon. “I have only been running for about two years,” the Texas native said. “I always thought running was out of my wheelhouse.”
Soto ran his first official 5K in February 2020. When he first started running, he had trouble completing a half-mile, but then he built himself up to be able to run a 3.1-mile race. Over a year later, in April 2021, Soto successfully ran his first half-marathon (13.1 miles). This December, he plans to cap off the year with running his first marathon. “It comes full circle for me, to not running to now training for a marathon,” Soto said proudly.
There is a very important reason that Soto is running a marathon, a cause that motivated him to begin running in the first place. He saw that he could join St. Jude’s team for the marathon. Now, he is raising money for the hospital.
“I have been around a lot of people in my hometown who have been impacted by childhood cancer,” Soto explained. “It hit home for my family in 2017 when my 13-year old cousin, Alyssa, passed away from a rare brain tumor. She was diagnosed in August and later passed away in February.”
After the tragic passing of his loved one, Soto became motivated to spread awareness of childhood cancer. That’s when he joined the St. Jude Children’s Hospital team for the marathon and began raising money and training for the upcoming marathon. “I have a soft spot for kids who battle cancer, and I don’t want any family member to go through losing a child like that,” Soto explained. “We keep Alyssa’s memory alive by participating like this. This is also a good way for me to keep training. The training is tough, but it’s nothing compared to what kids with cancer and tumors have to go through, so I keep that in the back of my mind.”
Soto is currently in his sixth week of training. He downloaded a training program and that helped him run his first 5k and half-marathon. To train for the marathon, he hired a running coach who gives him weekly running goals to help build him up for the marathon. “I have been running 20-30 miles per week right now, so hopefully that will get me ready for the big race,” Soto said.
In addition to his Director of Social Media & Digital Engagement job, Soto is currently pursuing his master’s degree in journalism, with a concentration in public relations, at Baylor. Soto is going to school, working a job that requires way more than 40 hours per week, and is training for a marathon all at the same time. “I have to give 100% of what I got every single day,” Soto said. “I just have to grind through it. It won’t be this challenging all the time, so I have to do the best that I can.” Soto is expected to complete his degree next summer.
Speaking of fitness, Soto competed in the latest round of the CoSIDA Virtual Fitness Challenge. He helped lead the Swole Inspiration Department (Team SIDs) to a first-place finish. “It was super special,” Soto said with a smile. “I always enjoy the CoSIDA Fitness Challenge. That team that I was on was so positive the entire time. I tried to perform well for them. I always try to give my best effort. In the last two weeks I put in 1,000 minutes to earn bonus points, and I was able to achieve it.” Thanks to putting in 1,000 minutes during the past two weeks, Soto earned enough bonus points to help his team rally for a first-place victory. “We picked each other up and carried all that positive momentum to the finish line. Coming out on top was really cool and something I will always keep in my heart.”
Regarding donations to St. Jude hospital, Soto has passed his initial $1,500 goal and will look to reach the $3,000 milestone. Then, he’ll continue to set new goals leading all the way to his race in December.
Key Fact: September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Soto hopes to have his family and friends watch and cheer him on at the marathon. He has earned incredible achievements at Baylor University. He is accomplishing so much outside of the profession as well.
To donate to Cody’s fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, click on this link:
http://heroes.stjude.org/codys1stmarathon
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