Feb 25, 2007 - 03:55:20 CST
FARGO (AP) - Rachel Mathson has been walking for nearly 25 years, but it's a skill she's had to brush up on as she prepares to strut her stuff in 5-inch heels and a swimsuit before hundreds of millions of onlookers."It sounds stupid to say I'm working on walking, when I've been doing it since I was less than 2, but, yeah, that's what I'm doing," she said.
For the past three months, the 25-year-old Miss North Dakota USA has been gearing up for the Miss USA pageant, where she will compete for the crown and a quarter-of-a-million-dollar prize package.
She has been doing mock interviews, making public appearances, and working out a lot. Mathson runs or bikes almost every day and lifts weights with a personal trainer a few times a week.
"She's very motivated," said Doug Duran, Mathson's fitness coach and the owner of Sports Center in Fargo, a pageant sponsor. "She's going to be very competitive; it just depends on how the judges view the state of North Dakota. That's, I think, always the dilemma."
Mathson has also been trying to get enough sleep, avoid getting sick when the flu is rampant, and mentally prepare herself.
"It's hard to not get intimidated by someone who has professional model on their bio," she said.
Though she's only held the state title a few months, competing in the national beauty contest is something Mathson has dreamed about for years.
Originally from Thief River Falls, Minn., Mathson competed in and won her first pageant out of high school. She later placed fourth runner-up in the Miss Minnesota 2001 pageant and first runner-up in the 2005 event.
"It just ended up being a really good way to make some scholarship money," she said.
Mathson said she loves competing in beauty pageants, but she doesn't do it for the pretty crown. She said pageants have helped her with interviewing skills and personal development.
"You're put into these awkward situations, like wearing 5-inch heels and a swimsuit and walking around in front of thousands of people," Mathson said. "If that's not awkward, I don't know what is, so anything else after that is just kind of a piece of cake."
She also loves the glamour, competition and opportunities to make a difference.
"You have the opportunity during that year to be in the public light and raise money for causes that really make a difference," said Mathson, who volunteers for the Mary Kay Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Cancer Society, the Lost Boys of Sudan, Lutheran World Relief and the American Heart Association.
Mathson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Concordia (Minn.) College, where she studied mass communications. She is currently the admissions director at Oak Grove Lutheran School in Fargo.
"I think it's time for North Dakota to be recognized as a state that's competitive in the pageant world," she said.
Stacey Lentz, Miss N.D. state director, and director of the Academie Agencie, which is the official sponsor and host of the Miss N.D. USA pageant, said Mathson has "a wonderful chance at the pageant."
"She's not a party girl, she's a Christian, she has a wonderful job, she helps the community, she's a great role model," Lentz said.
Mathson leaves March 8 for Los Angeles, where the pageant is being held. It airs live March 23 on NBC. While there, she said, she'll be doing everything from making formal appearances to playing basketball with the L.A. Lakers.
"The pageant isn't the end, it's just the means of getting to somewhere else," Mathson said. "I'm excited that this is an opportunity to open a new chapter of my life."
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