Brittni Dengler has been running for three years, starting after her best friend asked if she wanted to run a 10k together.

“I only ran for fun every once in a while growing up. Nothing more than a mile, you know? And I was like, yeah, sure, that sounds like a great idea.” Dengler said.

For her, that great idea was the start of her running journey – taking on events like the Fargo Half Marathon, Fitgers 5k, and Grandma’s half marathon. But none of it came easy, dealing with multiple health challenges over the years.

“Within a two-year span, I had shoulder surgery, brain surgery, then ACL surgery. So it’s kind of been one thing after another.”

But with each setback, she kept going.

“My first 10K was after shoulder surgery. Then the first two half marathons were after brain surgery. And now, just coming out of about eight months post-op from ACL surgery and ran Fargo Half Marathon two weeks ago.”

While ACL injuries can be devastating for athletes, she had some experience in dealing with it before, having initially injured it in high school.

“That was my second ACL surgery for the same knee. So when it happened, I knew instantly, just with the pain and where it was, I’m like, ‘There goes my ACL again.'”

But while she knew she wanted to return to running, one doctor wasn’t so sure.

“He said, ‘Pick up chess. Pick up chess. Let’s do indoors. Let’s not do sports.’ But that just doesn’t fit with my lifestyle. I like being outdoors, hiking, kayaking, running.”

And after a second opinion and plenty of physical therapy, she’s ready to race again, saying the journey was worth it.

“Just keep going, keep going, keep looking at the bigger picture, because it may seem like the worst day of your life at the time, because you might not be able to walk well, or just whatever limitations you have because of it. Just keep going.”

Brittni plans to run in the 2025 Grandma’s half marathon.