Dillon Shije is The Native Runner

I am a Professional Runner, Coach, and Motivational Speaker from Zia Pueblo, NM. I was the Top Native American runner in the United States my final two years of high school, regularly competed in national races, finishing Third in my final State Cross Country Championship and second in the 3200M New Mexico State Track Final after an injury. From 2007-8, I competed at the USA Junior Cross Country Championships on behalf of Wings of America (a non-profit organization using running as a catalyst to provide Native youth with skills to live a healthy lifestyle). I have been profiled as an athlete in the New York Times and which led to a lead role in a running documentary titled ‘Run to The East’ (2010). The documentary highlights my senior year of high school, my path to collegiate athletics, and won Best Sports Documentary at the Colorado Springs Film Festival. I was a U.S. Division I Cross Country National Champion in 2013. After graduating university in August of 2015, I moved to Colorado Springs, CO to pursue a professional running career with the American Distance Project led by coach, Scott Simmons. My goal was to make the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon but unfortunately an expected injury hindered my ability to do so and fell short of qualifying time by a minute. In 2017, I returned home to Zia Pueblo, NM, where I spend my time on the reservation rehabilitating and working on my Olympic qualifying time, practicing and learning more of traditional pueblo culture. My personal records are 4:01 (@ elevation) 1500m, 14:30 5k, 30:00 10K, and 1:06:14 Half-Marathon. I am a Graduate of the University of Colorado - Boulder, with degrees in Integrative Physiology and History and currently work with communities, organizations and individuals in a variety of capacities teaching running as disciplined motivation tied into human spiritual and physical wellness practices that have existed since time immemorial.