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