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A Teenage Run Story: Chapter 2

By Chloe Kofman

From where I stood, completely enraptured, the golden beam of light stretched in front of me. The chorus of angels floated through my ears. I thought my eyes must be deceiving me.

There was a pair of running shoes placed strategically on a shelf at about eye-level. They were a metallic dark green with an overlay of bright green shamrocks. Maybe they were even outlined in gold. If I’d been intending to buy a new pair of running shoes, I would’ve pounced on them. How could such a brilliantly-colored shoe not make a person feel ready to go out for a run? And they had the mark of luck, no less!

Nothing against less-flamboyant shoes, of course. Running is about finding and choosing what works for you. To me, though, the brighter the shoes, the more fun they are to put on. So I decided that my steel-gray-and-dark-pink shoes could use some flair. Rummaging through a closet in my mom’s apartment, I found what I was looking for: sparkly silver shoelaces that used to give me confidence at track meets past. Instant upgrade!

Bright shoes aren’t the only thing that make me feel like I can conquer any number of miles. I recently received a tip from a fellow marathoner; she mentioned that having a great playlist helps her get through her miles. Right now, my playlist consists of about 12 songs on my iPod and whatever Spotify pulls up for me. Spotify’s Epic station has cinematic tracks that sound like they were snagged straight from action flicks, while the Jock Jams station lives up to its name, with tracks to make you feel like you’re running straight through a spirited team locker room before a sporting event. Those are a couple favorites of mine, but upgrading my iPod’s playlist would be great as well, so it may be time to start the search for new tunes.

That said, trying to keep a pace going while listening to slower, softer music is akin to running through a field of peanut butter. Fur Elise could be playing through my earbuds and all I’d notice is, Gosh, this is worse than walking up the Garfield Avenue hill after my three classes on Tuesdays (if you’ve ever walked up said hill, you may feel that it never gets easier, no matter how many people tell you otherwise; obviously, those people don’t spend enough time trudging between upper and lower campus). I definitely catch myself speeding up to try to keep up with the beat of my music, although sometimes this ends with me wondering why I’m gasping for breath all of a sudden.

The point is, although running can be a team sport, it’s also very individual. Some people don’t care what color their shoes are as long as they’re comfortable, while others tend to go for a certain color or two as well as comfort. Some people would rather run without music and instead listen to the sounds of nature or have a TV in front of their treadmill. Personally, I don’t think that any runner has exactly the same habits as another. The fun part about that is, we can all share opinions and experiences in order to find what works best for us as individuals.

So, this is where I ask you, the reader, for suggestions and/or opinions. What keeps you going? What songs get you through the last few miles? Feel free to message us (The Blugold Mile) on Facebook with your thoughts. Hope to hear from you soon!

A Teenage Run Story: Chapter 1

Have you ever wondered why people balk at the idea of driving 26 miles to go out for dinner, but when it comes to a foot race of the same length, they wholeheartedly want in on it?

Yeah, me too. Because I am one of those people.

My name is Chloe Kofman and I’m a freshman at UW-Eau Claire. I’ve been running for four years now and writing for fun since fifth grade. Someday I’d really like to live in a house with a brightly-colored front door and a cat or five.

Allow me to share some personal running history. I’d taken up running on a whim going into my sophomore year of high school and ended up spending those three years in a love-hate relationship with it.

Actually, the love-hate relationship continues to this day. You see, my heart loves to run, but my body does not. In the first race I ever ran with the cross-country team (go Chippewa Falls Cardinals), I noticed a nagging pain in my left hip. This turned out to be a growth plate injury -- I didn’t know what exactly that meant, but I didn’t like it -- and from there, my list of injuries grew at an alarming rate. By my senior year, I’d still never scratched a race due to injury, but my training was almost at a standstill.

Last semester, a pale blue poster with orange writing on it was taped to the wall just outside my dorm room. Day after day, as I punched in the combination to my room, I couldn’t shake the idea that I should take a closer look at the poster; of all the places in the hallway it could’ve been hung up, it was placed right next to my door. Truthfully, I think that was the work of fate. Why, you ask?

It was a poster advertising not just the Kinesiology 101: Distance Running course, but the Eau Claire Marathon itself.

There was something telling me to take this class and set my sights on this race, even though the longest race I’ve ever done before was a meager four miles, compared to the intimidating 26.2 miles that make up a marathon. Maybe you’re thinking, why would she put herself through that considering her laundry list of injuries? Well, I told myself that maybe I should focus on the half-marathon instead, because with my history of injuries, that could just be the smarter way to go. The SAFER way to go. The thing is, the more I thought about it, the more I knew I had to aim for the marathon. What if I never got the opportunity to take a class centered on running -- and get college credit for it -- again? And if I was going to take the class, then I was going to throw caution to the wind and not look back. Currently, if my feet and ankles could talk, they’d probably have plenty of colorful words for me.

That’s how I ended up here -- sharing my story with you, the reader. Stay tuned for biweekly accounts of marathon-training milestones, misgivings, and other assorted musings

Trying something new

Meghan Hosely

While junior Jalen Thomas is conditioned for sports such as football, he thought he would try something that worked his slow twitch muscle fibers a little more.

Something like running the Eau Claire Half Marathon.

Thomas was first introduced to the idea in January, when he attended Blu’s Organizations Bash for the Black Student Alliance. Nathan Schaffer, coordinator of the Blugold Mile, approached Thomas and told him about the half and full marathon.

“Me and Nathan talked, and he said, ‘You should run it,’” Thomas said. “He really convinced me to run it, so I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to run the half.’”

Preparing for the big day

Although Thomas decided to run a 13.1-mile course in January, he didn’t officially sign up until sometime in February, and training didn’t start until after spring break.

Thomas said once he got serious about training, he turned to a friend who gave him a training plan for the weeks leading up to May 1. The goal, he said, was to run 8 miles, and walk 5 in no particular order, to complete the half.

With training underway, Thomas said he found it hard to stick with the plan. Thomas is a defensive tackle on the football team, and he just so happened to start training around the same time the spring season started for football.

Time management soon became an important element to his training.

“I was trying to fit in running times different than my football practice schedule,” Thomas said. “We started going six days a week for football, so trying to fit in running was very hard to do. I would run on Sundays when I had time.”

Thomas said he always used football as his motivation during build-up runs. If he wasn’t allowed to quit on the field, Thomas said, then he wasn’t allowed to quit during the race.

Although race day didn’t go exactly as planned for junior Jalen Thomas, he said he’s learned the value of training, persistence and community

Post-race

Although Thomas was directed toward the marathon route rather than a more traditional route, he said he still completed his goal, which was running and walking a total of 13.1 miles. Despite the mix-up, Thomas said he still learned a lot on race day.

The biggest issue for Thomas, he said, was having the mentality to run. During the race, he mainly felt pain in his feet, which led him to walk more than he planned on.

Even with the setbacks, Thomas felt inspired throughout the race.

“When you’re out there running, you feed off people’s motivation,” Thomas said. “The runners around you, and the community members supporting you, that really drives you.”

However, the community members weren’t the only people who motivated Thomas to continue running. His inspiration originally came from his mother, who has run a handful of 5k races.

Although Sherri Thomas couldn’t be in Eau Claire to watch her son this past Sunday, she was supportive of his decision from day one. “I’m extremely proud of him as my son, period,” Sherri Thomas said. “He knows what he wants and he goes after it. I tell him all the time I’m proud of him; not just for running, but for who he is.”

As far as Thomas’ future goes for running, he said he might not want to run half marathons any more. But since he was able to run 13.1 miles, he thinks he might have a future running with his mom by his side at 5k races.

#uwec #blugoldmile #ecmarathon

The @ecmarathon is in full swing. And we're seeing runners come through the Blugold mile! Come check us out and cheer loud!

Less than one day until the #blugoldmile! See you out there!

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Hey make sure to check out the Blugold Mile at the @ecmarathon expo from 9-7 in McPhee! #blugoldmile (at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

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Wait, what, only two days?! #blugoldmile

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THREE DAYS! #blugoldmile

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The ONLY PLACE you can pick one of the 450 official Blugold Mile cowbells is AT The BLugold Mile on Sunday, May 1 as part of the @ecmarathon! So when they're gone, they're gone, so don't be late!

Happy #tbt of some awesome #BRIDGEFACE photos! Be on the lookout for us and @uweauclaire this weekend! #blugoldmile (at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

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Four days!!! #blugoldmile

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Students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire know the pain that is #BRIDGEFACE in the winter. Runny nose, teary eyes, icicles forming on your beard. Instead of hiding their frozen pain, Blugolds share it on social media for the world to see! At the 11 mile mark for the half marathon and the 24 mile mark for the full, #BRIDGEFACE takes on a whole new kind of look. Watch for our photographers and find your photo at Facebook.com/UWEauClaire or Facebook.com/Blugold Mile!” (at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

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Three Professors’ Experiences

By: Meghan Hosely

Come race day, many students from UW-Eau Claire will have the chance to tour their campus for one mile toward the end of their 13.1 or 26.2-mile journey. However, there’s another group of people who will be able to tour their own campus as well come May 1: professors. Three professors from the Geography and Anthropology Department share their experiences leading up to race day.

Ryan Weichelt

In less than a week, Weichelt will lace up for his sixth Eau Claire Half Marathon since 2008. He has been running the race ever since he moved to the area, with the exception of one year.

However, Weichelt was introduced to the sport long before moving to Eau Claire. His first half marathon was in Austin, Texas in 2001.

“A friend bet I couldn’t do it,” Weichelt said. “I did it, and it was tough, but I got into distance from then.”

Since then, Weichelt said running has been a source of stress relief for him. Free time is sparse for the professor, so when he gets a chance, he likes to spend his time on the pavement.

As far as the Eau Claire Marathon goes, Weichelt said the thing that drew him to the race was the idea to support something local. Over time, Weichelt has seen changes, such as the start format change where the marathoners start before the half marathon.

Wiechelt also ran through the inaugural Blugold Mile last year, which he said, gave him a boost of adrenaline.

“The Blugold Mile helped in seeing familiar people,” Wiechelt said. “It also gave me an extra boost of confidence during the race.”

Jeff DeGrave

Ever since DeGrave started working at the university, fellow coworker Matt Evans has been trying to persuade him to train and run the half marathon.

“It was always something I thought about,” DeGrave said.

Even though this will be DeGrave’s first half marathon, he’s not unaccustomed to running long distances. In high school, DeGrave ran 10ks, but hasn’t ran much since.

“I don’t run under 50 degrees,” DeGrave said. “So I didn’t start training until about six weeks ago.”

His first run was just shy of five miles, and to date, DeGrave said his longest mile was 12.

Although running a half marathon is something DeGrave has always thought about doing, he said after May 1, he doesn’t think running another one will be in his future.

Ezra Zeitler

Zeitler also isn’t a stranger to running the Eau Claire Half Marathon, but unlike Weichelt, Zeitler hasn’t run the course since 2010.

In graduate school, Zeitler found running was a good way for him to stay in shape, but that wasn’t the only benefit.

“It’s a good release from your work,” Zeitler said. “My mind is able to wander when I run.”

Zeitler has also noticed he’s able to set goals better because of running, which has benefited him.

Even though Zeitler hasn’t run through The Blugold Mile, he has heard about it and is looking forward to having hundreds of people pushing him through to the end of the race.

However, The Blugold Mile isn’t the only thing Zeitler is looking forward to. From a geographer’s standpoint, he’s excited to tour the 13.1-mile course.

“Generally, I like observing the environment as something all geographers like to do,” Zeitler said. “A 13.1-mile tour will be a great way to see Eau Claire.”

#blugoldmile #uwec #ecmarathon

Thumbs up for today because there's only 5 days until the marathon. #blugoldmile

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SIX DAYS! #blugoldmile (at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

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Yes we are excited there's only 7 days until the marathon! #blugoldmile

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9 days left till the marathon! #blugoldmile

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