Graham and Jeremy, the Bennie brothers, are quite the pair. There are a number of qualities that make these Massachusetts natives unique, but one thing in particular stands out—running.
Graham, a junior Mathematics major, along with his younger brother, Jeremy, a freshman Government and Politics major, have shared a passion for the sport since they were young, taking part in their middle and high school teams and continuing to recreationally run, here in College Park.
“Competitively speaking it’s such a pure sport…you can’t fake running. Your times don’t lie while you’re out there,” Jeremy said.
“You can either run a five minute mile, or you can’t,” Graham said.
The brothers train and live together, pushing each other to get better. This was a major reason why they chose to run together in the annual Marine Corps Marathon, that was held on October 28th in Washington D.C.
“You just have this awesome bond with all these people because you’re out there together, you’re going after the same goal, and all of you put in so much work to try and achieve it,” Jeremy said.
But, let’s back up.
Preparing for a marathon means training to run 26.2 miles. While they do not consider themselves experts, the Bennie bros provided some tips to maintain a healthy and active campus lifestyle. You maybe ready to run your very own marathon one day:
- Escape from the stress: “I think that mentally…it is nice sometimes to get an escape from homework, jobs, and life in general,” Graham said. While it is important to focus on your work, it is just as important to get away from it all, the Bennie brothers said.
- Find something that you’re good at: Running helps both guys alleviate stress, and feel positive about themselves. “In the face of everything else, it’s something that you can always feel good about, and feel successful in,” Graham said. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the stress from schoolwork, jobs, and relationships. Have something for yourself that you know you are good at it, to give you that extra boost that you need to get through the day. It allows you to have at outlet to feel positive about yourself, according to Graham.
- Find something that you’re passionate about: “It’s not something that you have to do, it should be something that you want to do, when you do it,” Jeremy said. Being passionate about something helps you stay driven—so this point is applicable in every aspect of your life.
- Stay committed: “Anyone can run a marathon, they just need to commit to train six or seven days a week, for at least three months. Not 8 hours a day…just an hour…even less,” Graham said. Making an activity habitual is the first step in being successful in whatever you do. Once you start something, finish it!
Though these tips are important in helping a person maintain their health, they can also lead a person down the path of overall happiness. The Bennie bros are a testament to this belief.
If they are not running, the boys can be found on campus being involved in other activities. Graham is an alumnus of Science and Global Change, within the College Park Scholars living-learning community. He now is the senior editor on the Scholars Communication Team.
Jeremy has already gotten involved on campus, even though he has not been here an entire semester, yet. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he works for America Reads/America Counts, a program that enlists students to tutor elementary and middle school students in the local area.
These young men have found activities they are passionate about and have committed to them in order to escape from the stressful environments around them.
Both physical and mental healthiness are essential to have a positive college experience, according to Graham and Jeremy. This is the exact reason why they chose to run in the Marine Corps Marathon—it combines both ideas.
“There’s a lot of solidarity in that experience—pursuing a common goal with all of those people,” Graham said.
Even though the marathon is over, the boys still run every day and maintain their healthy lifestyles. They are already looking forward to next year.
“The Marine Corps is really amazing…you feel like what you are doing is saying thank you to them in a lot of ways…It’s all around, a really cool experience,” Graham said.
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Photos:
#1: Graham Bennie
#2: Jeremy Bennie
#3: Jeremy (L), Graham Bennie