56-year-old El Paso teacher finds joy in running, aims to finish El Paso half marathon
Elena Moreira-Puentes isn't going to be the first person across the finish line at the Raiz Federal Credit Union El Paso Half Marathon at San Jacinto Plaza .
"My time? As long as I'm not the last one, that's my goal," the 56-year-old school teacher from Northeast El Paso said.
If it takes her a while to cover 13.1 miles (her other goal is to break 3 hours, but she's not obsessed with that), that's because the distance Moreira-Puentes figuratively covered to get to the starting line is so much further.
Finding a passion for running
In 2011, she needed her then-husband to carry her upstairs because her rheumatoid arthritis was so bad she was almost incapacitated. After a divorce, when a ride up the stairs was going to be hard to find, she began a new treatment for her RA that involved direct infusions of treatment drugs into her blood veins.
That greatly helped but didn't end the pain − that's never going away − but in 2014, apropos of another life change when her adult children moved away (her son is now 35, her daughter 30), Moreira-Puentes decided to see if running was a possibility with her condition.
To her surprise, it was.
"My son and daughter moved away. I needed something to do," Moreira-Puentes said. "A friend of mine brought up that I should start running. I said no way, not with RA. I can't do that with rheumatoid arthritis.
"But I tried it and fell in love with it."
Here's what falling in love with it meant.
'I cried the last mile'
"In 2015, I ran my first full marathon," said Moreira-Puentes, who has since remarried. "I have done 27 half marathons. Ever since then, I became an avid runner. I enjoy it, it gets me out of the house, it gets me something to do. I've met a lot of really good friends through running."
And what was it like to finish that first marathon a decade ago, still the only 26.2-mile race she's run?
"I cried the last mile, I cried the last mile, I cried the last mile and said, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm doing this,'" Moreira-Puentes said. "When I finish, I always think the same thing: I'm very blessed and thank God for everything I'm able to do every day. Even if it's at a slow pace."
El Paso marathon race director Mike Coulter said stories like that are what recreational running is all about.
"The thing about running, it's such an individual victory when you cross the finish line," Coulter said. "We have the support of family and friends along the way, but on race day, it's your preparation and the intestinal fortitude it takes to do the distance.
"We all have challenges; some are physical, some are different. Elena is wonderful, wonderful."
Still fighting the fight
Her pace has gotten slower. Moreira-Puentes initially averaged 10-minute miles and has several times served as an official pacer for the El Paso Marathon (which entails running 13.1 miles at a set pace, carrying a sign saying what that pace is).
Now, she's closer to 15 minutes per mile because the pain in her joints has gotten worse. However, it hasn't derailed her or diminished her passion.
"As long as my knees can handle it, I'm going to keep running," she said. "I'm hoping I can do it for a long time. I'm hoping for at least another five years."
Running has also become a big part of her social life. When Moreira-Puentes started, she was running with an East Side group called the Coffee Posse. She still runs with them at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she started up a Northeast affiliate of the Coffee Posse that meets at Chuck Heinrich Memorial Park.
They meet at 4:30 a.m., usually with anywhere from four to 10 people, so Moreira-Puentes can get to her job as a third-grade teacher at San Elizario by 7:10 a.m. She's been a teacher at San Eli for 26 years, a daily 45-minute one-way commute on a drive she loves almost as much as running.
Moreira-Puentes is also an Ambassador for the El Paso Marathon, a second-year program in which she shares training tips on social media and promotes the race.
Coulter estimated the ambassadors are responsible for more than 700 of the so-far 4,700 runners who will compete in the sold-out Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon (560 people registered), the sold-out Raiz Federal Credit Union Half-Marathon (1,995) and the still-open-for-entries Spine & Rehab Specialists 5K Run/Walk .
As for that promotion, here is how Moreira-Puentes expects to feel when she crosses the finish line Sunday, Feb. 23.
'It makes me so happy'
"Exhilaration," she said. "It's very challenging but at the same time, the gratification, the way I feel after I do it, it makes me so happy.
"Every time I finish the race, I think, 'I never thought I'd be able to do this.' But I am able to do it and it makes me happy.'"
For Moreira-Puentes, the goal isn't to be the first across the line, just the most joyous and thankful. There is an area where she'll be a favorite on Sunday.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Teacher to run El Paso half marathon despite rheumatoid arthritis
