An incoming Mizzou wrestler ran Boston Marathon in place of his dad. Here’s why

Seth Mendoza believes in first impressions.

While the Missouri Tigers wrestling signee wants to be known for consistency and dedication, he recognizes that the moment someone is introduced to a community is critical. For some, it’s even essential.

His introduction to Columbia arrived when he committed to Mizzou on Feb. 29, 2024. He also officially visited North Carolina, Purdue and Ohio State but felt comfortable choosing the Tigers.

He was drawn to the campus and community and felt the fit was right.

“Having been committed for a year, I can honestly say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Mendoza said. “The coaching staff and fan base have been extremely welcoming since I announced it, and I can’t wait to get out to Columbia.”

While the official visit technically was Mizzou’s first impression of Mendoza, he knew he wanted to make a bigger statement before arriving on campus. While he loves wrestling, he wants to be known as more than that during his tenure with the Tigers.

“I wanted to do something that people could look at and go, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ I was just a wrestler to many people, which is cool, but so many things off the mat make me who I am.”

So, while Mendoza will spend days and nights on the mat in college, he decided to take a different platform to close his high school career.

On April 21, he ran in the Boston Marathon.

“My dad played a big role in my decision to run,” Seth said. “He had run Boston the past eight years but couldn’t this year because of an injury. He came to me a few months before the race and asked if I wanted to, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’m in.’”

Mike Mendoza, 46, still can’t fully understand how well his son ran.

“I was taken aback by just how consistent he was,” Mike said. “Some people don’t understand that the Boston Marathon is not just a regular marathon; it’s one of the hardest in the world. I was just really taken aback by his mental strength.”

Mike personally trained Seth out of his gym in Chicago. Their training schedule overlapped with Seth’s wrestling season and pursuit of a fourth state championship at Mount Carmel High School. Sometimes, Seth struggled, just like anyone would, but he always had his dad by his side.

“Misery loves company,” Mike laughed. “I was going to be by his side at every point in this. So, he wakes up early; I’m up early. I’m right next to him when he’s getting ready for a run. Sometimes, I’m alongside him on my bike when he’s running.

“I told Missouri’s coaching staff about that. Misery always loves company. If, God forbid, you only have one qualifier for conference or nationals, you’ve still got to have the team involved. The whole team has to be behind that one individual who continues to move on.

“When it came to the training, I just kept telling myself, ‘Misery loves company.’ I’m going to be there for my son, not just emotionally or mentally but physically. I’m going to be standing right there.”

Seth is about to head to a major university with ample resources across every athletic field. Ironically, though, if he wanted to train for a marathon, he could find better resources at the dinner table than an SEC school.

Mike owns the world record for the most Ironman races completed in a year. In 2017, he ran 24 half-Ironmans in less than eight months, beginning March 28 and ending Nov. 12.

He’s run many races in his life and trained for even more. However, Mike never felt the emotions leading up to race time as he did before Seth’s run.

“The whole day, I felt this nervous, gleeful energy in my stomach. I was excited to see what he would do and proud of the moment,” Mike said, “but I was very emotional about the whole thing.”

Seth did not feel those same nervous emotions.

“It’s insane,” he gleefully said. “It feels like the entire city is watching. Fans are lined up on railings, cheering you on and supporting you. The history of the marathon itself is all around you, and it’s just an unbelievable environment.”

Seth put together an impressive performance, finishing in 3 hours, 25 minutes, 43 seconds. He placed 11,868th out of 28,771 participants, an outstanding mark for a rising college freshman.

“There were a lot of hard moments and adversity,” Seth said. “Obviously, you train and prepare beforehand, but there’s nothing like the actual race. You’ve got to dig deep and find the willpower inside of you to continue pushing, especially when you’re running. It’s just you and the road ahead of you.”

While finishing the race was essential to Seth, he ran for more than himself. Seth fundraised more than $12,000 for Semper Fi & America’s Fund through various donation sites that supported his run.

“That was the best part of the entire experience,” he said. “Representing so many great people with Semper Fi & America’s Fund was a dream come true. I went into the race knowing my effort and intensity had to be high, because everyone supported me.”

Semper Fi & America’s Fund is a nonprofit organization that raises money for U.S. veterans wounded in combat. It has served service members for 20 years through donations and campaign efforts, already raising more than $28 million this year.

“My dad played a large role in me working with them,” Mendoza said. “He served in the Marines and has had a relationship with Semper Fi & America’s Fund in the past. When I decided to run the race sort of in his honor, partnering with them was a no-brainer.”

This was Mike’s crowning memory from the race. He previously ran for the same organization, raising more than $100,000 for wounded veterans, per his estimate. However, he has a much deeper connection to Semper Fi & America’s Fund.

Mike enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1997. During an tour in Iraq in 2006, he was hit in the chest with a grenade. Mendoza was rushed to surgery after the explosion and lost several organs in the operation.

“I’m getting shipped around all over for surgery,” he said. “I had emergency surgery in Baghdad, then I got shipped to Germany for another surgery. It was a lot. The Semper Fi Fund came to my wife and Seth, who was only a few weeks old then, and gave them a check for $5,000 to help with airfare, hotels and expenses to see me.

“When I came back to America, I found out about what they had done for my family and immediately was like, ‘What can I do to help?’”

“The Semper Fi Fund was really, really good to our family,” Kelly Mendoza said. “The fact that Seth wanted to raise money to give back all these years later after watching his father do it … was pretty special.”

There are many feel-good moments during Seth’s road to the finish line. However, he wants his story to be more than that. Mendoza repeatedly underscored that he wanted to speak to the Columbia community in a positive way ahead of his arrival on campus.

“College athletics are the most personable they’ve ever been,” he said. “You get four years at a university, and that’s it. Your time there is quick, but the impact and legacy you leave mean a lot. I want to be remembered as someone who inspired others to do great things, not just someone who has his accomplishments.”

Everyone close to Mendoza describes him as a strong teammate and competitor. But he thinks his story has a wider reach than that.

“A big thing that I want people to feel after reading this is motivated,” he said. “Anyone can run a marathon. Anyone can put in extra effort at their job. Anyone can work hard in a relationship. It might be hard, but it’s worth it. Effort is required in life, but the good thing is that anyone can give their best. ... As long as you’ve got the right people around you.”

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM.