Tyler Lewis Story

Just Another Runner’s Story June 2024 Written by Gale Fischer

Potential Unknown

"Getting off the bike and staring down a full marathon is one of the toughest things to do mentally.” 

—-Tyler Lewis

Running differs from many sports in that the goal is not always to win the match. Certainly, many participants feed off of a competitive drive but there are many in our sport who are in it just to run. Running beside others and taking in the energy on a race course is the thrill that some desire. It’s not always about age group awards or leader board placings. For others, simply running is all that is necessary, and participating in a race is not part of their athletic makeup. Tyler Lewis’ running story began this way. The competitive nature of the sport was not a part of his DNA. Just being a part of the sport was enough. 

Tyler began running as a young boy with a little encouragement, coaxing, and ultimately bribery from his mom. “I joined my middle school cross-country team in seventh grade. I only started because my mom offered me seventy-five dollars to run cross country. The previous summer I kind of just sat around watching TV and eating junk food. Mom was ready for me to change my sedentary tendencies.”  

Tyler spent much of his time early on near the back of the pack but this didn’t seem to bother him. “I was the slowest member of my team. Several times I was the last-place finisher for many races in my first few years of cross-country, but this didn’t matter to me. I liked the sport immediately because everyone was supportive no matter how slow I was or what place I finished.”

Tyler’s varsity cross-country coach Ryan Renner recalls his early observations of Tyler as a runner in middle school. “I remember watching Tyler's first race when he ran cross-country for the middle school team. He was always towards the back of the pack but I remember thinking that I never saw him walk and he seemed to be giving a solid effort.” 

Tyler also signed on for track in middle school but decided to try baseball during the spring as a freshman. He eventually returned to track as a sophomore but cross-country was always his true love. “Cross-country was my main focus and track was a way to stay in shape.”

Tyler would eventually turn the corner from runner to competitor. This competitive side remained internal and not against other runners. “My very first 5K finishing time was thirty minutes and thirty seconds my freshman year. I was able to chip away and had a personal record (PR) of twenty-five minutes by the end of my freshman year. Every year I seemed to get better and my best race was my senior season with a time of eighteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds at the Portage Invitational.” 

 

A sub 19-minute 5K was Tyler’s dream but improving his race times wasn’t his only source of motivation. “My sophomore year of high school, I weighed two hundred twenty-five pounds. I started taking running more seriously and eventually, I dropped down to one hundred seventy-five. I was trying to lose weight and the extra miles helped with this.” Tyler’s two goals complimented each other. Putting in the extra miles and effort required seemed to melt the pounds away and the more weight he shed, the better he performed as a runner. 

Coach Renner’s assessment of Tyler’s transformation as a runner paints a similar picture. “When he came to the high school team his freshman year it was more of the same for his first two years. He wasn’t built like a stereotypical distance runner. He was on the husky side. He ran, came to practices, gave a solid effort, and was a good teammate. Something changed after his sophomore year. He had slimmed down noticeably that summer and his times started to come down. The summer before his senior year, we talked about setting some goals, and his big goal was to break nineteen minutes. He not only got under nineteen minutes but also earned a varsity letter, finishing in our top five and scoring for us. He was a testament to what hard work and dedication could do.”

Tyler began his cross-country career as the slowest runner on his team. His goal was never to become his team’s number-one runner. He simply wanted to improve. His competition became internal and not against other runners. The individual component of his sport helped to motivate him but the social and team part of his sport was equally important. “The one thing that I miss the most from my time as a high school runner is the summer practices with the team, both boys and girls. We would run and then just hang out with my teammates after each practice. The team bonding was amazing. I also miss the support from the cross-country parents. Their enthusiasm is incredible. They were always so encouraging. There was never any negativity. Everything was always so positive.”

Tyler graduated from Harper Creek High School in 2009. There were no offers from college coaches to run at the next level, but that didn’t mean that running would not continue to be a part of his life. “After high school, I enrolled at Michigan Tech to study chemical engineering. I kept running casually. Winters were brutal but I tried to get out and run when I could.” 

As is a natural progression for many runners, Tyler would begin the transition from the 5K to longer distances. While still in college, he ran several half-marathons. In time he would branch out from this distance. “I ran my first marathon, the Bayshore Marathon, in 2011. In the realm of running it became the next logical step for me. It was a positive experience and I finished my first marathon with a time of three hours and thirty-four minutes. After finishing Bayshore I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I definitely wanted to chase this feeling again.” 

Running had been an important part of Tyler’s world for almost a decade. He hadn’t considered himself competitive but always sought improvement. He had graduated from the 5K distance and made the jump from the half-marathon to the marathon. Life was good as a former overweight middle school student who had turned himself into an athlete. Running was great but out of curiosity, he wanted to add an element to his running. “I was home from Michigan Tech in 2013 after my junior year of college. I decided to sign up for a triathlon.” Many first-time triathletes attempt a sprint distance (750-meter swim, 20-mile bike, and 5Krun), but Tyler wanted to step up his game right from the start.  “I jumped right to a Half Iron Man (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run), the Steelhead Triathlon in Benton Harbor, Michigan. My race experience was very positive. This helped cement in my mind that I wanted to be a triathlete. My finishing time was five hours and thirty-nine minutes. The run portion was my strength, followed by the bike portion and then the swim portion, but eventually, the bike turned into my strongest discipline.” 

Tyler felt comfortable with the Half-Iron Man distance. It remained in his wheelhouse for a few years. He had always been a runner and was still a runner, but now he was also a cyclist and a swimmer. He had found a new passion as an athlete. “I participated in Steelhead for the next three summers. I started getting comfortable with this distance. The next logical step was to try a Full Iron Man (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run).”

Training for and completing a Half-Iron Man triathlon is no walk in the park, but swimming, running, and biking twice as far raises the level of commitment to training. Tyler was ready for this challenge. “I signed up for the Louisville Iron Man 2018. The training for a Full Iron Man is significant. I spent between fifteen to twenty hours a week training. In the middle of the training cycle, I would have to do an hour bike ride on Saturdays and a two to three-hour run on Sundays. At the peak of the training schedule, I would do a six-hour bike ride on Saturday and then jump right into a thirteen-mile run. Sunday would then be a long run of fifteen miles or more.” 

Tyler’s experience in Louisville was difficult but this didn’t diminish the emotional impact that it had. “My first Iron Man was miserable. It was cold and rainy, but when I finished it was very emotional. I kind of caught the bug and wanted to do more. My finish time was thirteen and a half hours.” 

Tyler continued to train on his own but he longed for something beyond individual improvement. He wanted to make a shift and focus on racing against his competitors. “In 2019 I decided that I wanted to get serious about the competition. A teacher of mine from high school has a son, Mike Hermanson, who competed as a triathlete and also was a personal coach. I hired Mike as my coach. I followed Mike’s script and started training for Iron Man Arizona in November of 2020.”

The world shut down before Iron Man Arizona but this didn’t stop Tyler from completing the distance. “It was canceled two weeks before race day because of COVID. All my races were canceled that year.” Like many runners during COVID, Tyler improvised when it came to races being canceled. “I did my own Iron Man near my home in Fort Wayne. I swam eighty-five laps in the YMCA pool. For the bike, I rode fifty-six miles north and then turned around and came back. For the run, I had an eight-and-a-half-mile loop around my apartment that I did three times. My time was ten hours and fifty-five minutes.”

Mike Hermanson should receive some credit for the nearly three-hour improvement for Tyler’s Iron Man finishing time but it also couldn’t have happened without Tyler’s commitment to the training plan. Since then being an Iron Man triathlete has been a huge part of his identity. “I have participated in seven more Iron Man triathlons since, completing two to three each year.” 

Many health benefits come with the physical activity required for an endurance event like an Iron Man but the body does take a toll physically. Tyler has learned to take the time to heal after each. “A recovery for an Iron Man is a month with no activity at all the first week. I always get sick after each one. The immune system takes a hit from the physical demands of the distance.”

With the help of his coach, Tyler has continued to improve as a triathlete while also making a name for himself. “I set a PR of nine hours and forty minutes at Iron Man Maryland 2023. I have been fortunate to earn All-American status for the past four years as a triathlete through USAT, the governing body for triathlons in the USA.”  To become an All-American through USAT, one must finish in the top ten percent of their age group for that year.

Tyler has been dealing with an injury since his Iron Man performance in Maryland last year. He is now just getting back to a training routine. He would like to try another Iron Man soon. Moving forward he has two goals. His first goal involves qualifying for the Super Bowl of Iron Man Triathlons, the Kona World Championship in Hawaii. He would also like to post a time under nine hours. Most likely if he goes for under nine hours he would qualify for Kona. 

Tyler is living and working in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a few hours from his hometown. Not many in his hometown are aware of the transformation that he has made as a human being and as an athlete. His older sister, Melissa Klein is an exception and has been his biggest fan. Melissa reflects on what Tyler has accomplished and its impact on her. “Growing up I took the role of the big sister helping her baby brother. He was following in my footsteps but now the roles have reversed. Nothing was easy for Tyler growing up, including academics and sports. His confidence was low, but he was always motivated to do better. This is obvious with what he has done as an athlete but it is true in all aspects of his life. It is amazing that he was once the slowest runner on his team and is now a nationally ranked triathlete.” Because of Tyler’s accomplishments, work ethic, and attitude Melissa has chosen to participate in triathlons herself. Just as Tyler has become a role model for her she has done the same for her two children.

One never truly knows what their potential is or what they will desire to accomplish in their lives. Often times we underestimate what we are capable of. This is more evident in athletics but is true for anything. The ceiling is usually higher than perceived. Working hard and taking a step forward will breed confidence which will provide the push to put in more work and accomplish even more. It can be a powerful cycle. This confidence may give one the desire to try something that may have previously not been on the radar screen. I can’t imagine that the pudgy teenage version of Tyler Lewis would have had any desire to one day complete an Iron Man Triathlon but here we are nearly two decades later. Perhaps the best thing that can come from this is what any individual does to push themselves will ultimately inspire others. 

Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.

Carline Wilson Story

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little"                                                                         ---Plato

According to dictionary.com, the definition of frugal is as follows: economical in use, or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful. For some, the word frugal may convey negative connotations but there are certainly words such as stingy that carry with them a much harsher punch. What constitutes being frugal to one person may seem over the top to some while lavish to others.  It all depends on your experiences in life. I do think that as a society we are less frugal today than we were a generation ago. As a forty-seven-year-old, I can remember not having nearly as much as a child as my children have now. Of course, we didn't have all the gadgets then that we do now but luxuries such as eating out and always having pop in the refrigerator are much more common in my life now than they were when I was a child. Perhaps this was a function of the generation that I grew up in but it also may have been due to the amount of money we had as a family and the values of my mom and dad. Sure, there were times when I envied my friends for material possessions that they had but I never felt like I lacked anything that I needed. Although the notion of spending it while you have it and being happy is sound advice there are times when I feel very strongly that too much value is placed on spending money on something based more on wanting it than needing it. This month's featured senior, Carline Wilson, provides us an example of what willpower in terms of saving money can do for one's future financial stability.

Carline was born in 1932 in Russellville, Kentucky, into what many would classify as financial poverty at that time in history. She was the youngest of four siblings although two of them died during childbirth.  Her older sister of four years, Polly was born in 1928. Polly and Carline were taught at an early age the value of hard work and wise spending. Carline spoke of conditions in the house she grew up in as being simple without any modern-day luxuries of the 1930s.  "We lived out in the country as children in a one-bedroom house with no power or running water. We slept on straw mattresses and every year we would replace the straw. We had bed bugs and would periodically take the bed spring out, stuff the springs with rags soaked in kerosene, otherwise known as coal oil, and burn them to get rid of the bed bugs."

Running water, electrical power and box spring mattresses were not the only luxuries Carline was missing out on as a young child. Enjoying the pleasure of eating white bread was like toasting with a glass of champagne on New Year's Eve."On rare occasions, we would have white bread. It was like getting a piece of candy."

Although they had no indoor plumbing they did not have to walk far for the precious life source of water. "We had a ground-fed spring near the house that provided water. It was cold. We put gallon buckets of milk in the spring. We would tie them to something on land to keep them from floating downstream. The milk was ice cold."

The spring provided more than just fresh drinking water and a source to keep their milk ice cold. "We would wash clothes down by the spring. Polly and I would make a fire by the spring and heat the water in a black pot. We made lye soap with lye and grease and used this for washing clothes and dishes."

Carline and Polly's mom raised chickens which helped to supplement the family's income, but resources from the land also provided money. "We raised chickens, butchered them, and took them to town to sell. Mom also sold eggs. Mom would pick wild blackberries and walnuts to bring to town to sell. Polly and I would help pick the berries and nuts."

The land that they lived on also provided a source of medication.  "Mom would also pick May apple root, dry it, and sell it in town as medicine."

While Mom was busy raising, collecting, and selling goods in town, Carline's dad made a living farming the fields owned by his parents.  Carline spoke of working in the fields as a young girl. "Dad worked in the cornfields, tobacco fields, wheat fields, and hay fields depending on the season. My grandpa had a big farm. Polly and I would help in the tobacco fields by picking worms from the tobacco. I would pick the worms and put them in a can for Dad to kill because I didn't have the heart to kill them."

Carline would be thrust into the world of being a responsible adult as a teenager with the passing of her mom and dad two years apart. "Dad passed away from tuberculosis when I was 10 years old. Mom died when I was twelve from the same thing. Polly was 16 when mom died. She married shortly after that. I quit school in the ninth grade and I began working when I was 13, in a restaurant and then a beauty shop. I spent time being shipped off from one household to another, staying with Polly and her husband, my grandparents, and an aunt until I was 15."

Carline followed the path of matrimony a few years after her mom passed away. "I married when I was 15.  My husband, Charles, and I lived on his parents’ farm and both of us helped farm."   Charles and Carline waited three years to have children.  "Charles and I had our first child when I was 19, in 1949 Charles Jr.  Dallas, our second boy was born in 1950. Linda our next was born in 1951. Joyce was born in 1953."

Carline would be faced with a major roadblock in her relationship with her children four years after her youngest, Joyce, was born. "Charles and I divorced and he took the kids and left me in 1957. I had no contact with the kids from that point until they were adults." 

Not having any communication with her children must have been a tough blow, but Carline had no choice but to move on with her life. "I went to live with my grandmother and worked in Russellville and Bowling Green. Later I traveled the country with a guy that I had met and then came back to Kentucky. I moved to Flint in 1960 and got a job waitressing at a bar and then ended up managing another bar."  With her good looks and charm, Carline always found it easy to get a job waitressing. She started saving money she made from tips which would pay off for her when she retired. 

Carline would not stay in Flint for long, however. "I met a pool player, Tom, at the bar I managed in 1960. Tom worked in Flint for AC Sparkplugs.  Tom got tired of working at the spark plug plant so he quit. Tom and I went to Chicago for a while in a new Volkswagon that I had bought. From there we went to Florida where I worked at a restaurant." 

Tom could not find work in Florida and both of them longed to return to Chicago.  Carline's savings had been eaten up with the purchase of the VW and the move to Florida so moving back to Chicago was a challenge financially. "We wanted to go back to Chicago but didn't have money. Tom contacted a friend in Chicago who sent him $50.  We went to Chicago on $50 and a jar of pennies." 

Once back in Chicago Carline easily found a job but Tom couldn't find work. "I found a job at a restaurant. Tom couldn't find a job for seven years but made some money playing pool and playing the horses. Eventually, Tom and I found a job working as managers for an apartment complex we lived in. We did maintenance and cleaning. All this time I was saving money." 

The job as apartment manager was a great opportunity for both Tom and Carline. "Eventually the owner of the building, Mr. Weis, offered us a partnership in the building in the 1970s. I had saved enough to buy in as a partial partner. We continued to manage the building. We had no rent to pay and I kept saving money. A few years later Mr. Weiss talked us into buying bearer bonds. I had a lot of money invested in these. Over the years I made a large sum of money on these bonds. I eventually turned them all in and got a good sum of money off of this. After Mr. Weiss died his daughter sold the building and we got money from this. Much of the money I saved over the years I hid in a wall, not in a bank. Tom spent his money away but I saved mine."

Issues with Tom's health made them realize it was time to retire.  "In 1999 Tom had a heart attack so we retired and moved to Battle Creek."  Carline's ability to save money over the years would pay dividends. "I had enough money to buy our house with no loans.  Tom had a stroke, open heart surgery, and bypass surgery after retirement.  He began suffering from dementia after his stroke."

Carline took care of Tom with his health issues but it was not easy. "Tom and I had agreed years ago that we would never put the other in a nursing home. I began to suffer from COPD. Although it was difficult, Tom remained at home and I took care of him. I also suffered from a bad hip but surgery was and still is not an option because of the COPD. Tom fell in 2011 and broke his hip. With all my medical problems I could not take care of him and finally had to send him to a nursing home where he died in December 2013."

Carline still deals with her COPD and her painful hip issues. She was diagnosed with cancer after Tom passed but was treated for it and is now a cancer survivor.

At the age of 85 Carlin still manages at home with her sixteen-year-old dog Jackie.  She has plenty of help from her niece Laurie who checks on her daily, her nephew Fritz who lives in Florida and comes to spend time with her three times a year for two weeks at a time, Tom's son Mark who drives from Flint every other weekend to make sure her house is cleaned as well as friends and neighbors. Carline has not had an easy life but her willpower and wisdom in saving money has turned her from rags to riches.  Some might call her frugal but I would call her wise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why a Marathon?

Just Another Runner’s Perspective                                                                                           June 2024                                                                                                                                    By Gale Fischer  

Why a Marathon?

“I dare you to train for a marathon and not have it change your life.”                    —Susan Sidoriak

10/19/1997, Chicago, Illinois: An array of emotions swept over me ranging from excitement to intrigue as we hurried from checkpoint to checkpoint cheering on our friend Clay. I had tried running in the past and always felt that my level of endurance was decent. I could go out for three or four miles anytime I had tried, even if it had been a year or two since my last run. Up until today, I hadn’t possessed any kind of a passion for running nor had I considered myself a runner. Watching Clay pass through each checkpoint as he made his way to another marathon finish ignited a fire deep in my soul. I couldn’t imagine the possibility of trying to complete the distance myself but as I watched Clay, along with twenty thousand other runners, I felt like it was something I wanted to attempt. I came back home and ran four miles the next day. I had months of training ahead of me before I could identify as a marathoner, or a runner for that matter, but the life transition had begun.

One does not need to run twenty-six miles to identify as part of the running community. Some take on the half-marathon and distances shorter than this, while others search for a more obscure type of physical test, training for and attempting running events fifty kilometers to one hundred miles and beyond. There are also those in the running community who never sign up to race but still put in a consistent regimen of miles each week. So what is it that draws one to the marathon distance? Before we dive into an answer to this question let's look into the early history of endurance running for the human species. 

A 2007 National Geographic article written by James Owens titled, Humans Were Born to Run, Fossil Study Suggests, delves into the theory that our ancestors were well-equipped to run long distances.“ Researchers have identified a range of physical traits that suggest human ancestors evolved as distance runners. These adaptations helped them chase down prey and compete more effectively with the speedier carnivores on the open plains of Africa, the study says.” 

Pre-historic human beings may not have been able to hunt their prey by sprinting to catch them but survived because of their built-in genetic endurance. With patience, they were able to capture and kill their food source. Of course, in time the development of weapons and eventually the conception of an agricultural system made running long distances not such an essential part of human survival. 

Knowing that our ancestors used endurance running as a way of finding a source of food might suggest that running a marathon or multiple marathons is something that many were destined to do. How then did a distance of twenty-six miles and three hundred, eighty-five yards come into play?  The legend of the marathon goes back to a Greek Myth dated back to 490 BC. At the time a clash known as the Battle of Marathon took place between Greece and the invading Persians. Greece, the underdog, won the battle and sent a messenger named Pheidippides, a distance of twenty-five miles to Athens to deliver the good news. After completing the journey on foot and making the announcement he collapsed and died. Nearly two thousand, four hundred years later, organizers of the first Olympic Games held in Greece, in 1886, wanted to recreate the run that Pheidippides completed, using the same course. The Olympic event was named the Marathon because of the Battle of Marathon. The current distance was modified to 26.2 miles for the 1908 London Olympic Games when Queen Alexandra requested that the race start in front of Windsor Castle, adding extra distance to the race.

A string of events compiled over many years led to what has become a popular Olympic event as well as a sought-after race distance for many novice runners. According to Racewaves.com, race distances such as the 5K, 10K, and half-marathon are ahead of the marathon in terms of number of individuals finishing each distance. The marathon is definitely not the most popular distance among runners but for those who attempt its distance, there is often a love/hate relationship.

The marathon must hold some kind of magic spell on its participants. With the physical and mental effort required to finish such a distance, as well as the hours of training required to get to the start line, the desire for some to sign on remains a mystery for many. A Runner’s World article written by Dane Rauschenberg and published in January 2015, titled, 52 Reasons to Run a Marathon, discusses several reasons that support why anyone might choose to run this magical distance.  Although many of these reasons discussed in the article are legitimate, there are a few in particular that hit home for me.

“Exuberance—The marathon is mythical. While you can get an amazing high from tackling any race distance, conquering the mother of all races gives you a high which is hard to duplicate.” When I ran my first marathon this was something that I was not expecting. Instantly, after crossing the finish line, I witnessed a contradiction of feelings unlike anything else I had ever experienced. Physically my body was in misery. Emotionally, however, I was sky-high. I have run a total of forty-five marathons to date with some being more challenging than others, but with each, this high created from the contradiction of the physical and emotional has always been present. 

“Inspire others—Doesn’t matter if you are speeding to a PR, crawling to the finish, or anything in between, someone on the sidelines is going to start running soon because of seeing you push through the distance.” This is one of the most thrilling parts of running for me. It is always one of my hopes to be the seed that initiates the process for someone else to make a positive life change or even transform their lives through running. Being a runner on a marathon course may put me in the position of inspiration but this inspiration is a two-way street. There are always many examples of others on the course inspiring me. 

“Self-confidence—That whole conquering the beast thing? Yeah, with the beast being slayed, daily tasks will seem simple by comparison. If you could bottle the self-confidence you have after finishing a marathon and sell it, you’d be a billionaire.” The confidence that comes from completing a marathon can spill into all aspects of life and lead to positive experiences not necessarily directly related to running. This sense of accomplishment is amazing. The thrill might be similar to what a professional football player experiences after scoring a touchdown or a rock star feels when belting out a number one hit in front of an arena filled with fanatics. You probably will never have the chance to perform as a professional athlete or musician but running a marathon might be a reasonable goal. 

“Camaraderie—Run 26.2 miles with someone and you just made yourself a new best friend. That’s some deep existential sharing.” The connection made with a stranger out on a marathon course is unlike any other. Although most of these friendships are short-lived, there are few other examples of sharing moments when you are at your worst followed by moments when things couldn’t be better. It’s hard to imagine that this social phenomenon can occur over a four or five-hour stretch when running a marathon.

The rush that I experienced from my first marathon finish has been difficult to replicate, but the array of emotions has been present for each marathon that I have run. The combination of nervousness, anxiousness, pride, and excitement has become sort of an addiction. Many of these feelings are common with running and/or racing any distance, but in my experience, the marathon always seems to raise the level of elation that comes from running. It’s almost a model for life, as it can knock you down while also placing you on top of the world. The energy level on a marathon course is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is magical and electrifying. Each participant has a story. These individual stories center around overcoming obstacles, making a positive life change, redemption, and exercising demons. Running a marathon can provide each participant the ideal opportunity to learn some things about themselves that they might not have previously known.  

“If you’re losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.”                    —Kathrine Switzer                                                                          

KEEP RUNNING!!

Until next time, this has been just another runner’s perspective.

Julian Borst Story

Just Another Runner’s Story May 2020                                                                                                      Written By Gale Fischer

A Life Changer

                                                                               

"It's not a disability, it's a different ability."

Thousands of examples exist in the running world of lives that have been changed forever because of our sport. Most of us have seen or heard of many examples of this through social media and word of mouth.  Perhaps we have seen transformations such as this in our interactions with running partners. Chances are many of you have witnessed this life shift that running has created firsthand with your very own story. Some common themes for life changes in the world of running include radical weight loss and shifts from unhealthy habits to well-balanced daily routines. For local runner Julain Borst, running has been the catalyst for helping him navigate through life with daily challenges. Our sport has provided Julian with the gift of adding some normalcy to his life, allowing him to flourish as a young man in our community.

Julian was born with a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and a Learning Disability (LD). Julian's mom, Ruth Borst, describes Julian as generally being under-sensitive. "What this means is that the stimuli doesn't fully or evenly reach his brain and he tends to need and seek extra stimulation and that most things are more difficult for him. Running is an exception. Timing, gauging, proprioception--the sense of one's body's position in space, anticipation, discrimination, and prioritizing have always been difficult for Julian."

As Ruth explains, running seems to provide Julian's body with feedback that helps him process external stimuli. "I think that the sensory integration required for running and the sensory integration that running provides has helped Julian with all of this. The anticipation took a while for Julian to internalize, understand, and remember how the uncomfortable feelings of starting a run change to good or great in-sync feelings when you hit your stride or are done with a run or a race."  Running, like many types of physical activity can help to balance one's physical, mental, and emotional state. This balance occurs for Julian on an entirely different level.

Julian missed a major milestone early in his life due to his disabilities as described by Ruth. "Julian never crawled. I think it was too complicated and his arms weren't very strong. But despite his coordination issues, he had a very strong drive to walk and had us walk him relentlessly, and walk he did right on schedule around his first birthday, undaunted by his frequent falls.” It seemed that with his desire to become mobile with both feet early on, Julian was destined to become a runner.

Julian started out enjoying running in the seat of a jogging stroller pushed by his mom. He had an unusual curiosity that would allow the miles in the stroller to pass. "I had an interest in maps. Mom would stop at checkpoints on the trails and show me the maps."

 

Julian grew too big for the stroller and would later find another way to spend time with his mom while she ran.  "When I was nine I started riding my bike with her when she would run. I got too fast on the bike so she started having me run with her. When we were doing this I would run about thirty minutes at a time with her. I did some kid runs. I did the Kids Classic with the Kalamazoo Classic for a few years. This was a distance of one mile. I did this until I aged out"

Julian made a natural transition from kid’s runs to being a competitive Middle School athlete. "I started running cross country in Middle School at Maple Street Magnet School. I ran long distances for track also. I continued running track and cross country in high school."

Although not a significant predictor of the success he would experience as a young adult runner, Julian did enjoy some prosperity as a high school runner. "My senior year I was top twenty-five at the Early Bird Cross Country Meet at Portage West. I ran varsity for cross country and track in my junior and senior years. My PR in high school for cross country was 17:14 in 2015.” Although a 17:14, 5K time is impressive enough, Julian would find another gear after graduating from high school.

Running would take Julian to new heights after graduation but he considers one of his high school accomplishments to be his most memorable moment as a runner. "I was voted MVP for my team my senior year."  

Julian's success in high school would carry over tremendously on the local and national racing scene. "In 2016 I ran my first half marathon, the Borgess Half. My fastest Half-marathon is one hour and sixteen minutes at the Borgess Half Marathon in 2017. I trained with the KAR Beyond group. My first marathon was the 2018 Grand Rapids Last Chance BQ.2 with a time of two hours and fifty-four minutes. I ran the Monumental in November of 2018 finishing with a time of two hours and fifty-eight minutes. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2019 with a time of three hours and five minutes."  Julian became the first-ever Special Olympian from the state of Michigan to compete in the Boston Marathon.

Julian was making a name for himself as a young adult runner locally, but his talents as a runner would take him to the national scene in 2018. "In the summer of 2018, I ran in the Special Olympics Nationals in Seattle. I ran in the ten thousand meters, winning it with a time of thirty-five minutes and eighteen seconds. I also won the three-thousand meters finishing in nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, and the five-thousand meters with a time of 1sixteen minutes and twenty-six seconds."  

Julian's times easily allowed him to claim championship status as a Special Olympian but his times are amazing for any runner. His success at the National Special Olympics competition in Seattle would not go unnoticed at home. He has become somewhat of a celebrity in Southwest Michigan. "I was granted a key to the city by Bobby Hopewell, Kalamazoo's mayor, after returning from Seattle."

In the weeks since I sat down to interview Julian, he has continued to step up his game with the start of the summer road racing season. Over Memorial Day Weekend, Julian took home hardware, winning the Run to Climax, a seven-kilometer race. He posted an official finishing time of twenty-four minutes and three seconds, good for an average pace of five minutes and thirty-two seconds per mile, coming in almost a minute ahead of his challenger. A few weeks later he claimed another victory, finishing first in the Cereal City Classic ten-kilometer race with a time of thirty-two minutes and twenty-four seconds.

Although Julian's running accomplishments over the last few years have no doubt helped to fuel his love for the sport, the joy that he receives from running lies well beyond first-place finishes. "I love the adventure. It takes you to new and old places in the community. It helps you make friends. It’s a good form of transportation."  Whether one is a competitive runner or just out there to become an all-around healthier individual, running can provide adventure and friendship.

Running can work wonders in the lives of all who participate. Sometimes it is easy to take for granted the freedom to be able to go out at any given moment for four or five life-enhancing miles. Julian is a perfect example of how running can change one's life. It has given him the freedom to explore his local community and see what there is to see in other communities he has visited because of running. It has helped balance the unbalance of his physical, mental, and emotional existence due to his unique needs caused by SPD, ADD, and LD. I believe that running has been a positive influence on Julian beyond this.

Personally, I have known Julian for three years. When I first met Julian he was quiet and reserved almost to the point of being timid. In that time, Juian's personality has blossomed. I'm not sure that he will ever shake his shy personality but he continues to become more comfortable with himself and his role in his community. In my observations it seems like he has become more confident, he is more willing to engage in conversation and the smile on his face has become bigger and is visible more often. Running has given him a positive network of friends allowing his confidence to grow even more. Even with this spike in his level of confidence, Julian remains humble in his attitude towards his athletic abilities. Running has pushed Julian out of his shell and his inspiration has had a profound impact on the local running community. It has changed his life and made his not-so-normal life more ordinary.

 Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.