New Jersey Champ Overcame An Eating Disorder And Used Her Platform To Inspire Others On The Way To Historic Fall

By Natalie Shapiro for DyeStat

Photos by John Nepolitan

Angelina Perez's final high school cross country season was more about redemption, recovery and joy than it was the results. 

The Lakeland NJ senior's results followed. In her most impressive season yet, she finished second at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships in San Diego after winning the Northeast regional 

Perez explained that, for her, this season was “a chance to take advantage of every opportunity I got and give it everything that I had.” 

Her aim all along was to have the season she knew she deserved by treating every race as a celebration of fitness and giving her best effort each time.

“My track season last year didn't end the way I wanted it to, so I feel like that just motivated me through my summer training and into the fall," Perez said. "It became a sort of driving force for me. I also only started running as a sophomore and then COVID hit, so I didn't have all the opportunities to race that I might have had if I started running sooner. I felt like I wanted to give it everything I had every race of the year and just make it a memorable season for myself.”

Perez's season, which saw her move to No. 2 on the all-time Holmdel Park list behind only three-time Nike Cross Nationals winner Katelyn Tuohy, offered a lot of reasons to celebrate. Chief among them was her recovery from an eating disorder.  

Perez has spoken publicly about her experiences with disordered eating on her Instagram account @_runningonplants_. The account focuses on health and wellness, providing inspiration for eating disorder recovery and maintaining a plant-based diet. 

Perez started the account in June 2020.

“I wanted to start my account and share my story because when I first got sick I didn't understand what was happening or why I had to feel the way I did. I feel like this happened for a reason and I could help people. I want to go into the medical field eventually, but I also wanted to do something to help people right away.”

Perez’s national prominence has given her a platform to speak about issues that she is passionate about. Her especially successful cross country season is a reflection of her strength and recovery and is a source of inspiration for athletes struggling with mental illness. Perez notes that after her second-place finish at Eastbay Nationals, she received many messages from other runners and female athletes who were inspired by her success story.

Perez has been able enjoy an amazing season while spreading that same joy to others. It's the joy of racing that drew Perez into the sport in the first place. She recalls her first cross country race where she got lost on the course and ran extra distance. She remembers telling her mom: “I cant do this sport. I just went the wrong way! This isn’t for me.”

Michele Perez, Angelina’s mother, has been there for every step of her daughter’s journey from that first race, through the trials and tribulations, to a runner-up finish at nationals. 

“Not (just) because she is my daughter, but I honestly don’t know anyone as dedicated and determined as Angelina," Michele Perez said. "She sets goals for herself and she gives it her all to achieve them. I’m so proud of her and awesome cross country season she had.” 

After her first experience with racing, Perez fell in love with the sport after her first taste of victory in a small, relatively unimportant cross country race a week later. 

“I honestly just fell in love with running," she said. “It wasn't even a big race but the feeling of coming across and knowing that I came in first was such a surreal feeling and that's when I knew that this was the sport I wanted to stick with.”  

It's her love for the sport that helped her recover from her eating disorder, she said. 

"Running saved my life. I wanted to stay strong for running and fuel myself.” 

The fall of 2021 accomplishments stacked up, with New Jersey Groups, Meet of Champions and Eastbay Northeast titles come in succession before taking second to Natalie Cook of Lewisville Flower Mound High in Texas in the national final by less than five seconds (17:19.7). 

The University of Florida recruit concluded the fall as one of the greatest cross country runners in New Jersey history.

But her biggest satisfaction was in how she handled it, embracing the effort and enjoying its rewards.  

“I feel so proud of my running accomplishments but I'm most proud of what my past has helped me learn, and how I've been able to help others. I would never change a thing,” she said.