Want to know our teammates’ deepest, darkest secrets? Well, we can’t share those; they’d probably report us to HR for telling you.

So instead, we sat down with Senior Internal Auditor Tony Goettsch over an ice-filled glass of Pure Leaf unsweetened tea.

As one of the runners in this year’s The 437 Project, Tony is spilling the tea on his most intense and most meaningful run yet.

Lace up your running shoes, and let’s get sipping.

The 437 Project

“The first thing I remember is, ‘Wow, I got selected. Now, do I want to do this?’ Because it’s a huge commitment. Physically. Mentally.”

Started in 2022, The 437 Project is a run across the state of South Dakota centered around mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Twelve runners will embark on a four-day, relay-style journey to raise funds and support for the Helpline Center: the only accredited suicide crisis center in South Dakota.

One of those runners is Tony Goettsch, a Senior Internal Auditor at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

After watching a friend run in the project in 2022, Tony promised himself to apply if ever given the opportunity.

“Well,” he said, “last year, they opened up the application process for the first time, so I decided I would fill out an application.”

He told only a few close friends that he was applying — not even anyone from his family.

“Part of it might have been just so no one was disappointed if I didn’t get selected,” he said.

Upon hearing the news that he was one of 12 runners selected out of around 50 applicants, Tony says he told his mom “right away.”

“I don’t remember the exact words,” he said, “but I know she was excited.”

The 437 Project departed on September 25 from the west side of the state.

Tony started his first leg in Spearfish at 7:14 a.m. Mountain Time.

“If that kid can do it, I can do it”

A basketball player by choice and a runner seemingly by accident, Tony ran his first 5k in 2013.

“About a year later, I signed up for the Sioux Falls 5k,” he recounted. “There was a kid walking past me, and I had finished. He says to me, ‘Why aren’t you running?’”

Unlike Tony, who just wrapped up the 5k, the boy was running the half marathon.

“‘If that kid can do it, I can do it,’” Tony remembers thinking. “So, then I started expanding.”

Next came 10k runs, and he signed up for his first half marathon the following year.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I didn’t think I would; I thought I would struggle to finish.”

Since his start in 2013, Tony has run nearly 40 half marathons and three full marathons. The Good Life Halfsy in Lincoln, Nebraska, remains his favorite race.

“It has a feeling of a big race like the Twin Cities Marathon,” he said. “It’s typically run in cooler weather, which helps, but the fan support along the route is really fun.”

Not to mention, he’s clocked in four of his five fastest half marathons there.

But his most intense and most meaningful run, The 437 Project, is right on the horizon — and he’s been training for it accordingly.

“I probably have never trained to this level,” Tony said. “I’m putting in a lot more miles. I’m running almost five days a week, sometimes six days a week. Doing a lot of walking. Occasionally, I’ll throw in a bike ride. I’ve definitely stepped up my game.”

Across South Dakota in 437 miles

Over the four days of The 437 Project, which takes place from September 25 through September 28, the runners will take turns running the 437-mile route that spans across South Dakota.

For his part, Tony will run a total of 38.1 miles spread across four separate legs.

“My biggest concern is, how am I going to do these hills outside of Spearfish?” he said. “From miles two to five, or something like that, I’m going to have around 700-plus feet of elevation gain. I can’t even simulate that by running in Sioux Falls.”

In fact, out of the 12 runners, Tony has the most elevation gain in a single leg.

“As a team, none of us wants to let down the others, but we also don’t want to let down the people that we’re running for,” said Tony, referring to those affected by mental health challenges in either themselves or loved ones, as well as those who have lost someone to suicide.

The money raised through The 437 Project goes to promoting the Helpline Center’s 988 number with signs, shirts, brochures, etc., and funding events such as Sean Astin’s upcoming “Beyond the Screen” presentation in Sioux Falls.

“I’m interested to hear stories along the way that people are going to share with us,” Tony said. “I know, emotionally, I can’t prepare for that.”

The other thing he can’t emotionally prepare for is, at times, running through South Dakota in the middle of nowhere and in the dark, with nothing but lead vehicles in front of and behind him.

However, Tony claims that the quiet and calm are what he loves most about running

“There’s times I can just free my mind,” he said.

And when the time comes for him to run through the dark, in the middle of nowhere, the support of his fellow runners and the cause for which he’s running will keep him going.

“I’d love to see suicide numbers come down,” Tony said. “That would show me that we did have a huge impact. But even if I hear of one person who called 988, and it saved their life, that’s more than enough.”

Before sending Tony off on his run, we asked him to loosen up by answering a steaming hot round of questions:

If you could trade jobs with anyone in the Bank, who would you trade jobs with?

A trust officer.

What’s your favorite local business?

605 Running Co. That’s where I get all my shoes.

If you were auditioning for a singing competition show, what song would you sing?

Something George Strait. Maybe “Check Yes or No.”

What would be the title of your autobiography?

Made It to the Finish Line.

Your house is on fire. What is something completely unreasonable that you would run back in to get?

Running shoes, shorts, and a shirt. I’ll probably never be able to find them again!

Pull out your phone, and text us a picture that represents you.