Ashley Graham is happy with her recent fitness accomplishments

Ashley Graham is not might like working out in the gym, but if you are going to ask her to go out with you and run a few miles then you might get a no for an answer. She is active and spends five days a week at the gym, but running outdoors is not her thing.

So when Adidas called her up and asked her to get involved in their Run For The Oceans initiative, a global running campaign by Adidas and Parley for the Oceans that’s meant to raise awareness for the threat of marine plastic pollution, it was a chance to combine her love of fitness with a great cause, even as a self-proclaimed non-runner. “I really wanted to come out and do my part because I think that if we’re not going to save the ocean, then what’s going to happen to the generations after?” Graham says.

5K run

Graham decided to do a little prep before the 5K. “Obviously I had to run before I came here to make sure I could do it,” she says. So she did some running in Prospect Park, near where she lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to prepare. “I didn’t do it without stopping, but I did it.” She also enjoys a few other types of cardio, rollerblading and biking, which she does regularly around the city and in the park.

Graham partially credits a recent hiking retreat in California for ramping up her endurance, too. “We were doing six- to 12-mile hikes every day and it was so intense. We would even jog down the hill sometimes.” There were some rough patches, she says, but ultimately, it was a huge challenge she was able to conquer. “So that’s why coming and doing this run was, I was like, “OK, I got this. My endurance level is up.’”

She needs to get inspiration

Graham decided to do a little prep before the 5K. “Obviously I had to run before I came here to make sure I could do it,” she says. So she did some running in Prospect Park, near where she lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to prepare. “I didn’t do it without stopping, but I did it.” She also enjoys a few other types of cardio, rollerblading and biking, which she does regularly around the city and in the park.

Graham partially credits a recent hiking retreat in California for ramping up her endurance, too. “We were doing six- to 12-mile hikes every day and it was so intense. We would even jog down the hill sometimes.” There were some rough patches, she says, but ultimately, it was a huge challenge she was able to conquer. “So that’s why coming and doing this run was, I was like, “OK, I got this. My endurance level is up.’”

Graham is confident

“It’s really a journey. If you’re looking for confidence and self-love, you have to then say, every day, ‘I’m going to make an impact in my own life. I‘m going to [look] in the mirror and say ‘I love you,’ or I’m going to give myself a compliment or do something that’s bettering my health, my skin, my hair, whatever it is,’” she says. Just learning to talk to yourself differently can make a huge difference in how you feel, she adds. And she’s a big fan of finding good role models who are open about working toward their own confidence.

“If you take this and make a change every single day, then you’re on the journey. It has to be a conscious effort, and you can’t do it for anybody else.”