How Northern Arizona’s Ali Upshaw paired college running and her Navajo roots

Ali Upshaw believes running is a form of prayer, a way to keep blessings close.

Upshaw is a tribal member of the Navajo Nation. Her community says running early in the morning allows holy people to recognize, guide and protect you. Small practices and beliefs guided the former Northern Arizona cross country and track and field runner whenever she laced her shoes for practice or competition. Upshaw centered her culture as a motivator and path to success.

"Running is so multifaceted in Navajo culture, especially with the way it's intertwined with a lot of our cultural traditions and our teachings and the way it's present in a lot of our ceremonial practices," she said.

Her community taught her these lessons throughout childhood, where she grew up on a Navajo Nation reservation in Fort Defiance, Arizona. 

"(Growing up on the reservation) has definitely kept me grounded throughout my college career and just has really shaped me into who I've become," she said.

When it comes to community support, Upshaw feels pride in her journey to collegiate athletics.

"Everybody from back home loves to see Native student-athletes compete and perform at these levels," she said. "The community support has really changed the way I motivate myself. It's pressure that we as Native student-athletes create sometimes, where we want to do well for our community. And that's always a factor that can bring pressure or bring motivation in some sense."

If pressure makes diamonds, Upshaw is a gem. 

After transferring from the University of New Mexico her senior year, Upshaw earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America, All-Big Sky and All-Region honors. In her fifth year, she broke both the conference record and Northern Arizona's school record in the indoor 5,000 meters, and she became the 2024 Big Sky Conference cross country champion.

"Some of the main lessons I will take away from running with (coach) Mike Smith and the girls at NAU will definitely be not just the memories, but also learning how to be a teammate, learning how to be selfless, learning how to work hard, be consistent and just challenge myself," she said.

Upshaw said members of her Native community encourage their youth to value their education. This made becoming a collegiate student-athlete - where she could pursue running and an education at the highest level - the perfect fit.

"A lot of us Native students and scholars, our end goal is to graduate and to get an education. Whether that be to go home or continue on serving Native communities, there's always that goal of just the importance of education," she said. "Graduating … feels really good to achieve that part of my educational career."

Upshaw graduated with a degree in university studies and plans to pursue a master's in public health at Northern Arizona.

"I want to focus on culturally relevant strategies for Native people and combating chronic conditions and also finding more opportunities for those culturally relevant solutions," she said. 

In June, Upshaw attended the Native American Student-Athlete Summit at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, where she met other student-athletes and administrators.

"It's very encouraging to see there are so many other people that are experiencing being the first leaders and student-athletes, administrators in spaces that we haven't really been in before," she said. "In a sense, it feels like you're not alone in navigating a very non-Native space."

Ultimately, Upshaw hopes that her journey can inspire other Navajo or Indigenous children who aspire to run collegiately. 

"They can do it, too. It is possible for them," she said. "Just because there's a few of us on that stage or that level … they are capable of anything that they put their mind to."