Just Another Runner’s Story November 2024 Written By Gale Fischer
Empowered by Running
“There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run”
—-Fred Rohe
In the world of coaching, success is easily measured through wins and losses. Defeating the competition is always an important component when it comes to athletics. As a passionate runner coaching cross-country for more than a decade, an underlying goal for me has always been to field a competitive team, but there is more to strive for than this. It is always an aspiration to provide a positive influence on my athletes and make a difference, helping them navigate through their world moving from teenager to young adult and beyond. The sport of running itself and the guidance of a coach can pay dividends in the lives of our youth. As much as I desire to mentor my athletes, I am continually reminded that the script can be flipped. Lessons can be learned from these young athletes with the inspiration that they are capable of providing. This month’s featured runner, Lexi Kryszewski, has provided positive influence over the last two seasons for her Kellogg Community College (KCC) cross-country teammates and coaches. She is a reminder that with all the negativity we observe and hear about in our world today, hope still remains for our future.
As a child, running wasn’t necessarily an activity Lexi could have predicted would play an important part in her future, but being active was ingrained into her routine early on. She was born and lived out much of her childhood in New Berlin, Wisconsin. She was active as a child in organized sports and also developed a love for playing outside while growing up in the Midwest. Lexi reflects on the role athletics played in her childhood. “Sports have always been a big part of my life. In my elementary school years, my mom had me and my two older brothers signed up for every rec league activity possible. I played soccer, softball, and basketball, took swim lessons, and participated in dance and cheer.” Lexi enjoyed being active and the values that she learned from this would carry over through her teen years into adulthood. As much as she liked all the sports she played in, she would develop a passion for one in particular. This activity would provide a bridge for Lexi when her family moved from Wisconsin to Michigan. “Dance was always a big focus for me. My passion consumed my life. I was on the Varsity pom team for Harper Creek High School, joined studio dance, and found my first job as a teacher assistant for the tiny tot classes. I continued to share my passion for dance after graduation by becoming a dance instructor during my first two years of college. It has always been about celebrating movement and has built confidence.”
Lexi had developed a love for dance as a child but as she went through high school and began contemplating her future she also developed another passion as she made the transition to college. Lexi gives details about this. “I graduated from Harper Creek High School in 2022, earning a Gold Key Scholarship through (KCC). I wanted to be a secondary math teacher.” Lexi’s involvement in other extracurricular activities beyond sports would lay the foundation for her earning the Gold Key Scholarship and also give her the experiences that helped her to hash out a plan for what she wanted in a career. Some of these extracurricular activities included serving as president of the Student Council and National Honor Society and being a student representative for the Calhoun Area Career Center Education Academy.
Lexi started a part-time job at Harper Creek Middle School as a paraprofessional and lead SEL teacher during her first year of college to give her some experience working in a school setting. This experience would be the spark that ignited her passion for the impact she wants to make in our world as an adult. “After working with students and teachers from all different backgrounds I realized that the system is broken for kids, teachers, and administrators. I decided to switch my pathway and am seeking to earn a degree in Non-Profit Public Administration and Family Consumer Science and Youth Development. I eventually want to earn a Ph.D in Educational Leadership. I want to create sustainable programs that lead to the enrichment of education, elementary through college.”
High school graduation brought with it the end of competitive dance for Lexi. She would continue to pursue a lifestyle that included physical activity despite not being a high school student. This philosophy of taking care of herself physically was something that had been rooted in her thought process from her years as a young child participating in a variety of sports. After graduating from high school she would spend time at the gym each week with friends. Her gym rat mentality would be put to the test the summer between her freshman and sophomore years at KCC. Lexi talks about the challenge of continuing with her gym routine. “During the summer leading into my sophomore year of college at KCC, I was going through a transition and felt some stress. My workout partners were gone for the summer. Going to the gym alone was out of my comfort zone but at the same time, I leaned on going to the gym to get me through the summer. I did some running on the treadmill, lifted weights, and participated in fitness classes. I had worked out with others but now I was doing it independently. This was a new experience for me and at first, this was uncomfortable but I gained confidence and felt empowered.”
Prior to joining the KCC cross-country team, Lexi had done some running on her own. She would run one or two miles at a time occasionally. It wasn’t necessarily something that she had a passion for and she didn’t identify herself as a runner, but it served as part of her workout routine and fit perfectly with the importance that she placed on being active as part of her lifestyle. The story of Lexi becoming a collegiate cross-country runner would be put into motion as part of the personal enrichment requirements for the Gold Key Scholarship she had earned. Lexi reflects on what led her to cross-country. “As part of the itinerary for being a Gold Key Scholar, I am required to meet with KCC’s director of student life, Kristen McDermot every semester to identify a personal enrichment activity. When Kristin and I met at the end of my freshman year she challenged me to do something different for my personal enrichment activity. I decided that I would run a 5K.” Lexi didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it when making this goal and quickly realized that she was out of her comfort zone. She had normally run two miles, but increasing this distance another mile seemed daunting. She didn’t panic and put a plan together to reach her goal. “I ran my first 5K on the treadmill later that summer. I had done some running in the past but 3.1 miles was a huge step for me. My focus was to build up step by step and increase my distance gradually as I went. After completing a 5K I was super proud of myself.”
Lexi’s plan was to run the 5K and go back to her normal routine, but the training she had put into running over three miles without a break stirred an interest inside of her. This interest in continuing with a more regimented running routine was also partially spurred on by encouragement that she had received from some of her friends a year prior. Lexi explains this scenario. “During the first few days of my freshman year at KCC some of my friends tried to talk me into joining the KCC cross-country team. They were in need of a few more runners to field a team. I didn’t pursue the possibility of running cross country at that time but a year later after running that first 5K on the treadmill, I decided to reach out to Coach Shaw to see if he needed me to run for the team.”
Lexi recalls her conversation with Coach Shaw as if it happened yesterday. “My first meeting with Coach Shaw was memorable. At the time I was curious about joining the team but still wasn’t completely sure at first. Coach Shaw wanted to field a team with at least five runners and was on board with me signing on. He laid out the benefits for me to run for his team. He said that I could possibly go on to continue running in my future; in the worst case Coach Shaw said I could get in even better shape, maybe make some friendships that would last a lifetime, and have a great time with the team, which all seemed like great options. After meeting with Coach Shaw, Lexi had to make the choice to try something brand new to her, running cross-country, something she had never dreamt that she would do.
Lexi’s running peers for her first year of cross-country quickly turned into a special group of teammates for her. Lexi talks about what she appreciates most about her team with the friendships that she has made. “The team I was on the first year was really special. I was a new runner, but that didn’t matter. I was welcomed with open arms into a sport I had never participated in before. The humility I had to take on was heavy and not for a second did I feel ashamed; I felt fortified. Everyone accepted me. We supported each other and continue to do so through running but also in life.” Most would think that an ideal situation for a cross-country team would be to have a collection of runners who could compete at a high level. This wasn’t necessarily the scenario for Lexi and her team, but the dynamics of this group were truly amazing. “There was everyone from new runners to experienced runners. Practice each day was always something that I looked forward to. We became a family. We became a community. We would continue to play other sports after practice for hours. This supported my philosophy of how movement and play are important for everyone not just kids. Many workouts were targeted to individual pace but there were also those days when we could run together. I enjoyed these runs. It was a chance to be goofy. It was more than a run.”
Being a part of a team and the social connections it blessed Lexi with were what brought her the most joy but the implementation of a consistent running routine was also something that she relished. “There was constant individual growth. I was always sore and tired but at the same time, I felt strong and more empowered. The more I moved the stronger I felt mentally, physically, and emotionally. In this my second year of cross country my body is not nearly as sore as it was last year. I have adjusted to the miles. Consistency played a major role in my growth. Running during the off-season was not always an easy task, but did always make me feel better.”
As a second-year student, Lexi was a first-year runner and still considered a freshman athlete, but her future as a KCC student and runner was not a certainty going into the off-season last winter. This didn’t matter to her as a runner; She now identified herself as a runner and continued to run. Her teammates became her gym partners helping her stay committed to cross-training. As the summer of 2024 approached Lexi had to make a decision. She was ready to continue her college education at a four-year school but still wanted to run a second year for KCC. She and Coach Shaw hashed out a plan. She enrolled at Western Michigan University this fall signing on for fifteen credits, while also taking another six credits at KCC. Her schedule as a college student is heavy while also serving other roles including Kampus Activities Boards (KAB) officer and Phi Theta Kappa officer. Being a member of KCC’s cross-country team added to the load, but as Lexi explains, running helps her efforts as a student. “Running has helped with the demands associated with being a student. Cross-country gives me a community, gives me movement to breathe, and gives me a chance to be outside. The balance it has given me has been a blessing for me as a student and life in general.”
Although Lexi is new to cross country that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any goals as a runner. Her goals have evolved, yet remained rooted in her same philosophy as she explained, “I am pushing for a sub thirty minute 5k to end my season. Regardless of time, my overarching goal for this season had been to ultimately keep showing up for the team and myself. Running has become a standardized thing in my life. I will continue to run after my time as a cross-country runner is finished. I want to complete a half-marathon and build from there someday.”
Through running and her experiences as a college student, Lexi has a great outlook on how to get through the demands of life with words of advice for others. “Don’t ever be afraid to do new things. Being willing to do something and not be perfect can be a good thing. In racing and life, your place in the race doesn’t equate to losing. Everyone’s journey is different. Don’t let your head get in the way of finishing a race or any challenge you are faced with in life. Give yourself grace because the path you are walking is your own. Sometimes you need to do things for yourself.”
There are many among us including runners and non-runners who have a perception of who a runner is or is supposed to be. Lexi is proof that anyone can start their journey as a runner by finding the joy and the empowering community within the sport of running. In many ways she is mature beyond her years and running has enhanced this maturity. Just as her endeavors to help create and maintain a sustainable education process in the future make her an ambassador for future generations of children, her involvement in running and the way that she has embraced it make her an ambassador for our sport.
Everyone has a story. Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.