Sarah Tedesco

The Quiet Miles: How Sarah Tedesco Found Clarity in Motion

Every runner chases something — a finish line, a time, a feeling. For Sarah, it’s the joy of giving everything she has, every single time.

There’s a certain calm to Sarah Tedesco — the kind of calm that only comes from miles logged in silence, when the world fades into rhythm and breath. “I first got into running after qualifying for my junior high cross-country team,” she says. “Then my dad started signing us up for local 5Ks and 10Ks so we could run together. That’s when I fell in love with it.”

Those early runs weren’t about medals or stopwatches. They were about connection — daughter and father, stride for stride, learning how effort can turn into joy. “There’s something exhilarating about pushing through fatigue,” she says. “That moment where your body’s begging you to stop, but your mind says no — that’s when you grow.”

From there, she never looked back. Through high school and into her time with St. Mary’s University’s Cross Country and Indoor Track programs, Sarah became the kind of athlete coaches love — disciplined, reflective, and endlessly consistent. The kind who doesn’t need to talk about work ethic because you can see it in how she warms up.

“When I think about success,” she says, “it’s not about medals. It’s about finishing a race knowing I gave it everything. That I didn’t quit when it got hard.”

That definition of success is pure Sarah — humble, grounded, and fiercely competitive in a quiet way. “Running’s taught me a lot about discipline and mental toughness,” she adds. “Those lessons carry into everything else. You learn how to keep moving forward, even when life feels uphill.”

If there’s a source to that inner calm, it’s her mom. “She’s been my biggest supporter from the beginning,” Sarah says. “She’s always told me to celebrate progress — big or small. She’s helped me find confidence when I doubted myself.”

And when she’s not chasing miles, Sarah’s chasing moments — usually with her best friend: her dog. “He’s my adventure buddy,” she laughs. “We explore trails, go for hikes, wander around the city. Being out there with him reminds me to enjoy the little things. To see the world with curiosity again.”

That’s Sarah Tedesco — runner, competitor, thinker. Someone who’s not in it just for the clock or the course, but for what both teach her about life.

Because in the end, her races aren’t just about speed — they’re about clarity. About testing limits, finding peace, and remembering that the best kind of finish line is the one you reach knowing you left it all out there.