By the time Monika was 11, she needed something to do in the summer, so she started running cross country. When she was just 3 years old, Monika started cross-country skiing because her older sister, Annette, did. Both sports combine mental and physical toughness.
In Norway, cross-country running and skiing go hand-in-hand. SMU runner Monika Korra, a native of Norway, was abducted and brutally raped in December 2009.
Her focus helped make her a champion in Norway, winning gold and bronze medals in distance running at the 2008 Norwegian junior championships. She thought about nothing else when she ran. Massive cliffs with waterfalls everywhere. She used to run through the foothills and by the fjords in a place that looked like Middle-earth. She wanted to feel the way she felt as a young girl, growing up in Loten, Norway. She thought the men were going to come after her again. She had just fought for her life and used every ounce of strength that she had to survive. She tried to crawl, but couldn't even do that. 'But at that point, I just couldn't stand up.' But at that moment, Monika Korra couldn't do it.
A simple command, something she had done all her life.
