A former star runner for Dartmouth and holder of the Greek women’s record for the 10-kilometer event, Alexia Pappas – in running gear – told an audience in Lynchburg, VA, where she was the special guest for the 46th Genworth Virginia 10 Miler, what her secret was: willpower.

Pappas, who has dual citizenship and ran for the Greek Olympic team in the 2016 games – she’s also an actress – shared her message on willpower, but she added, quote: “It’s important to be as kind to yourself as you are hard on yourself,” the local CBS news station reported.

Pappas said that it was really special speaking to mostly female businesswomen at a luncheon at the Regional Business Alliance, a role to which she can relate as an athlete, her acting also in her role as a writer. She also spoke at the University of Lynchburg.

She set a Greek national record for 10,000 meters at 31:46:83 and bettered that at the 2016 Olympics with a time of 31:36:16 to place 17^th in a fiercely competitive field. As a filmmaker, Alexi co-wrote and starred in Tracktown, directed by her husband, filmmaker Jeremy Teicher.