MANHATTAN — Ruthanne Bowen's running career began in eighth grade.
Not because it was something that really piqued her interest at the time, but just because it was something to do.
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"A friend of mine and my older brother (ran)," Bowen said. "So I was like, I have nothing to do. I might as well (try it)."
Bowen still expresses her gratitude to her friend to this day for getting her involved with running.
"I was like, thank you so much for getting me into this sport, because it's just become such a big part of my life," Bowen said.
Once she joined Manhattan's cross country and track and field teams, Bowen's coach Sarah Jambor said Bowen has been posed many athletic challenges inside and outside of her control. Despite this, she's persevered through it all since day one.
"I kind of get chills talking about it," Jambor said. "Just seeing her tenacity and growth, especially over her entire career. ... It's really cool and to see it starting to come to some pretty monumental fruition is a testament to the grit and dedication she's given it for the last four-plus years."
And when she's not running, Bowen is often found volunteering her time to help her community.
"I'm part of NHS, which is a volunteer hours-based club for the school," Bowen said. "Through that, I volunteer for the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. I volunteer a lot at aid stations for races like the Bozeman Marathon or the Crazy (Mountain) 100."
Jambor said Bowen's giving heart is really who she is as an individual.
"We talk about wanting to build student-athletes that are really well-rounded outside of just athletics or academics," Jambor said. "I think Ruthanne is truly a testament to that."
And Jamber has seen Bowen's selflessness within her sport, as well.
"She's also incredibly gifted at recognizing people around her for their achievements (and) successes, and it's not at the cost of her own abilities or opportunities," Jambor said. "It's not a chore for her to be kind and contribute to opportunities around her."
This sentiment is shown in Bowen's favorite story from her time volunteering, which comes from a Crazy Mountain 100 race.
"The aid station we were at was 20 miles in, so these runners had just run 20 miles (and) they still had so far to go," Bowen said. "There was this older gentleman who was running through, and I was helping him. I just noted he had all his 'pleases' and 'thank yous.' It was so awesome for me to see that these people can just be polite even though they're exhausted. There's like really no excuse to be mean to people ever, and it just kind of proved that point."
After she graduates from Manhattan this spring, Bowen will stay in Montana and continue her running career at Carroll College.
