Community at Dartmouth: See How They Run!
In the months leading up to their fall and winter races, three Dartmouth Master of Public Health Online Hybrid students, Jayden Tabor ’26, Gabriel Loud ’26, and Divya Kaushal ’26, were logging miles in different cities, on different schedules, and often at odd hours squeezed between Zoom classes, full-time careers, and the steady hum of graduate-school responsibilities. Despite the distance between them, their journeys formed a shared narrative: one of discipline, community, and the surprising parallels between training for a marathon and studying public health.
JAYDEN TABOR, MPH'26: PHILADELPHIA MARATHON
For Jayden, preparing for the Philadelphia Marathon meant moving through weeks that felt both “wild and wonderful.” Running became a touchstone, an hour in the sun when everything else felt unpredictable. It was more than exercise; it was stability, clarity, and a way to reset. She squeezed long runs into early mornings, interval sessions between meetings, and training plans into the corners of her busy schedule. What she didn’t expect was that the discipline needed to train for 26.2 miles would make her studies feel easier. “Running forced me to see what was controllable: rest, preparation, discipline,” she said. “And discipline becomes momentum.”
GABRIEL LOUD, MPH'26: NEW YORK CITY MARATHON
For Gabriel, who completed the New York City Marathon, running was already a steady presence in his life— a mental reset, a source of strength, and occasionally a chance to multitask by listening to assigned lectures during long runs. Training while enrolled in the hybrid MPH program wasn’t a burden; it was a balancing force. Some days felt easeful and others were challenging, but he learned that consistency and trust in the process were what carried him to the finish line.
DIVYA KAUSHAL, MPH'26: NEW YORK CITY MARATHON
Divya, who also crossed the NYC Marathon finish in 2025, took on her first race while balancing research and coursework. Early in her training, she discovered what many new marathoners realize: success has less to do with speed and far more to do with protecting what matters. Long runs became as non-negotiable as deadlines. Rest days became as sacred as final exams. “Running became more about becoming the person who could,” she reflected, “rather than about finishing the race.” Her commitment now spans continents, with marathons planned in Paris, Maui, and Sydney.
Together, Their Individual Journeys Reveal a Larger Story About Community, Resilience, and the Shared Work of Public Health
Even spread across cities, each runner found that community was central to their experience. Jayden describes her cohort as “an incredibly close, supportive energy that somehow thrives across time zones.” A single long-run recap could spark a cascade of Strava kudos and late-night encouragement. When she visited Hanover for the Intensive Learning Session, sharing miles with classmates felt like slipping back into rhythm, conversations flowing from health policy to race-day fueling.
Divya saw that same community show up. Classmates and professors who had run marathons themselves offered support that came from genuine understanding. Running classmates treated each other’s training updates with the sincerity most people reserve for major life news. Their encouragement helped her see her goals as something worth protecting. “Their support was one of my most motivating factors,” she said, and every mile felt lighter because of it.
Gabriel felt that encouragement too, both from classmates and faculty who checked in, cheered him on, and celebrated his progress leading up to race day. Whether on Zoom, on campus, or through shared GPS routes, the Dartmouth MPH cohort became a community that wrapped around each student, academic goals, personal ambitions, and finish-line dreams alike.
Across all three journeys, one theme rose above the rest. Running a marathon and pursuing public health both rely on the steady accumulation of effort over time. Jayden saw that reaching the finish line is not magic; it is the sum of small choices made consistently. Public health, she found, works the same way. Real change happens quietly and steadily.
Gabriel reflected on the broad range of pathways where public health professionals can have an impact, each one meaningful, much like the many routes a runner can take to build strength and endurance. Divya discovered success is not achieved through willpower alone. She learned that she progressed as a runner not because she was unusually disciplined, but because she had access to safe roads, time carved out for recovery, classmates who reminded her to take care of herself, and fuel when she needed it. Public health showed her the same truth: resilience grows in people when the systems around them support it.
Jayden, Gabriel, and Divya each crossed their finish lines with new strength, new insight, and a renewed appreciation for the people who helped carry them forward. Their marathons became more than races. They became metaphors for the work they hope to lead, work that is long-term, deeply human, and powered by connection. In a program that spans zip codes, time zones, and full lives, they discovered a community that shows up for one another, mile after mile and module after module.
As they continue building careers in public health, they carry with them the same lessons that guided them through every long run: Show up. Trust the process. Protect what matters. And remember that none of us move forward alone.
Written by Mia Soucy
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Dominique Lee, MPH’20
CEO, Planned Parenthood New England,
