Home state: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 2
College: Lyman Briggs College
Major: Genomics and Molecular Genetics

Jessica (JP) prefers running cross country to track and also enjoys running half marathons. Last year, JP raced the NIRCA Nationals Half Marathon with a time of 2:01:00. She plans to race the NIRCA Half again this upcoming spring. In addition to running club, Jessica is a Student Research Assistant under Dr. Shannon Manning. Jessica is well-known by the club for her love of cats, especially her cat Fezzie.


"My favorite thing about running club is meeting new people! I have met so many wonderful friends in this club and I feel that doing something that you love (running) with other people who love it, makes it a more enjoyable time. You have the best conversations and you make the best memories. My favorite memory from RC is running the 2015 NIRCA National half marathon because I've never felt so strong and ready for 13.1 miles of hard, consistent running. I even PR'd that race, too, as hilly as it was. However, my best social memory from running club were all of the times I am nominated for something cat related, you all know me so well!"

Home State: New Jersey
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
College: College of Natural Sciences
Major: Earth Science with Meteorology/ Atmospheric Science concentration

Logan’s favorite events are the 400, 200, and 100. In addition to running for the club, Logan is one of our three sprinting coaches. Aside from running, Logan enjoys Star Wars, cars, and the weather. Check out our interview below:

Running Club: “What is it like to be a sprinting coach?”
Logan Soldo: “It definitely comes with challenges because I never made my own workouts, and making workouts is definitely tougher than it seems because something that might work for you might not work for someone else. And then you also have to make it so that if you’re not working with your distance, you’re working with other distances. So it definitely comes with challenges, but it’s definitely rewarding because just like any other coach, you’re going to go out there and see people that you’ve trained with--that you made the workouts for--go out there and run good times. It makes you feel good.”
RC: “So do you know how to make workouts for all of the events, or have you run all of the sprinting events?”
LS: “I’ve definitely run all of the events. I mean, I haven’t run hurdles or anything--so hurdles and the field events I don’t have much skills with. But I know most of the events. I’ve run most of them and I know what works. [I get] most of my inspiration from my coaches, especially with the workout planning, because I know what works for me. But you train for some of the longer events and then you can do any of the events, really. It just comes into a little bit more individual practice.”
RC: “Do people seem to like you on the team as their coach?”
LS: “Uh, I hope so! I definitely hope so.”
RC: “Sorry, that was worded weirdly.”
LS: “I mean, yeah. I don’t want to be conceded. I mean, I haven’t heard many complaints. I mean, what I say isn’t the be-all-end-all of your workout. So if someone wants to do something else....”
RC: “Is it weird coaching people that you ran with regularly last year?”
LS: “Oh, definitely. Especially just being a sophomore. It’s definitely a trust factor, especially because I’m only a sophomore. I don’t know if everybody trusts me. And I’m working with people older than me, and I guess people trust me. I think that’s a big part of it. Especially when I don’t run the best results, I feel like I’m letting the team down, like I’m not the best that they can do. But I feel like if I’m trying 100% during the workouts, I feel like everyone else will. It’s not about being younger. It’s just someone that can go out there and work hard every day. And I think that’s a lot about coaching.”
RC: “Do you have to go to practice every day?”
LS: “Yes. I try to do my best. I have a routine where I like to lift on the off days which are Monday and Wednesday and Friday. I like to lift weights instead of do easy runs because I start out with easy runs at the beginning of the season and now that I feel that I have a base, I’m more warmed up and everything. I feel like I can come to these [track workouts] confidently. And I feel like showing up to all of the practices--which, Devin’s not here today--I feel like that’s a big thing. I understand that if we have something to do, then we have something to do. And we made the workouts already so hopefully one of us is always here. But it’s not just me all by myself doing this. It’s definitely a team effort. I like the input of everyone else. I like to know how other people are feeling. And, just as a leader, I feel like I have to come to all of the practices, just to be reliable.”
RC: “Do you ask for any feedback or anything from the members?”
LS: “Definitely. I feel like everybody has a specialty in something. If people are better than me at starts, I’m going to ask them what they are doing, what feels right for them, and what they can show other people. I’m not an expert on this. I’m not an olympic athlete. I ran through high school, and I like it, but I don’t know everything about it. I feel like it’s a big learning experience for me.”
RC: “And you still do cross country even though you’re more of a sprinter. Is there any sort of gap between yourself and the distance runners? Not time-wise but socially.”
LS: “Yeah. Well--I mean. We go to late-night and everything. We still hang out. I feel like I’m still a part of that group as much as I am a part of the sprinting group. I like to talk to everybody. I don’t run with them as much anymore, but I try to get out and connect myself with them because I feel like that’s a big part. We are still a team; just because we run different events and train differently doesn’t mean we are any different.”
RC: “Would you say that going to the social events helps too?”
LS: “Oh, yes definitely. I feel like going to the social events is huge...going to the social events is important to me.”
RC: “And then, you also go to all of the travel meets too--or most of them.”
LS: “Yeah, well. When I can I do. It depends on school. But I definitely try to go to all of the travel meets because those are huge. Especially for bonding with the team. You get a lot of people out here that aren’t fully committed and when you go to the travel meets, it’s all people that want to be there--all people that love running. And of course, you get to see the different competition. But really, it isn’t even the running. It’s the travelling and everything that’s a great part of it.”
RC: “What’s your favorite travel meet that you’ve been to so far?”
LS: “This year?”
RC: “Yeah. Or last year.”
LS: “Well. Penn State sucked.”
RC: “Okay. Why?”
LS: “I was just cramped in a car, and it was just too far. But I like Kentucky. Kentucky was a good one. Illinois was a good one too because it was just a small bunch of us, and I had a lot of fun with that. I like all of the travel meets, really...except for Penn State. I don’t think we saw enough of Penn State either. When we...You were there. When we went to Kentucky this year, I really enjoyed that because we looked at the campus. We went into a library and people were studying--probably for finals because it was in November--and we just made a lot of noise. Yeah, it was fun. I don’t know. That’s the thing about traveling.”
RC: “Is that your favorite memory from a travel meet?”
LS: “Probably. Yeah, it was something adventurous we did. We don’t get to see all of these other schools. Especially one that is down south like that: you don’t get to see that. And it was cool to do with friends.”

Home state: Michigan
Status: Freshman
Year on club: 1
College and Major: Undecided

Brett is a freshman on the club. His favorite events are the 5k, mile, and 800. Through his hard work and devotion to practicing, Brett hopes to achieve new PRs this season. So far, he has broken his 1200m record in the DMR and is close to breaking his 4:57 mile PR.

Running Club: “What events do you run?”
Brett Roginski: “In high school I ran the mile, two mile, and then my coach would always throw me in the 4x8.”
RC: “Are you thinking about running those same events here?”
BR: “Yeah, I’m going to try to. I ran the mile last race; so yeah, I’m going to try to run more towards a little higher than the 800. So the 1200 and the mile for the DMR. I want to get closer to 3:20. I just broke 3:30 on Saturday [at the MRUN Club meet].”
RC: “Is that a PR for you?”
BR: “Yeah, and then I don’t know about the 3k. I might try it one time, but I’m not sure.
RC: “Would you ever consider doing the 5k or the half marathon?”
BR: “Probably the half marathon because I know that I can kind of handle it. There was one day that I kind of just went on and did 10 miles at like 6:40 or something and that was pretty cool. I would sooner do that than the 5k on the track. I don’t really like…I guess I could try doing the 5k again. I’ve had bad experiences on the track though.”
RC: “Like what?”
BR: “My cross country coach would have us do time trials on the track and it was terrible. It was just so repetitive.”
RC: “So do you prefer cross country to track?”
BR: “No, I definitely like track way better, but I didn’t do cross country this season and I’ll probably do it next year. And then I’ll re-access my judgements. But I like track better.”
RC: “And then, did you run throughout high school all four years?”
BR: “No, I didn’t run my freshman year. I tried out for the baseball team and missed the first week of track practice and the coach didn’t let me on. I knew the cross country coach was crazy, so I kind of held off until my junior year and then that was my first year running cross and that was my only year. I ran one race the next year and then quit because the guy was just nuts.”
RC: “So this is your freshman year, right?”
BR: “Mhmm.”
RC: “So how did you hear about running club?”
BR: “My brother, Eddie, was in it. He graduated four years ago so he was with Eric Loveland and all of those guys.”
RC: “All of the beginning people?”
BR: “Yeah.”
RC: “Does running go in your family or is it just something that you both like to do?”
BR: “Not really. I picked it up after my dad passed away. I was always just kind of interested in just running; through middle school I would always try to but I would always just miss the sign up day for track. My dad passed away my eighth grade year and I missed the day for sign up so I couldn’t run track and I didn’t really feel like asking. And then I knew I definitely wanted to run, but I knew the cross country coach was crazy so I was going to wait from track.”
RC: “Did you hear that the coach was crazy from your brother? What made him crazy?”
BR: “No, my friends. So my brother coaches on the rival high school and he wouldn’t let me talk with the guys that I run with over there at meets so like, I can’t even say ‘hi’ or anything.”
RC: “Your coach wouldn’t let you?”
BR: “Yeah, my coach wouldn’t let me. And then he had to know where I was the entire time. The only reason I raced the one race for senior year was because I told him I was going on vacation but I went out to cross country camp with my brother—which was on vacation—but he went through this whole thought process and found out and assumed that I was there instead of on vacation.”
RC: “That’s why you quit senior year?”
BR: “Yeah, that’s why I quit. My mom was like, ‘yeah, I can’t take this anymore’ so she called me off and I just kept training for track. I was really close to breaking 5:00 all of junior year in the mile and then I finally broke it senior year, but it was only 4:57. So I kind of want to get faster than that, but we’ll see what happens.”
RC: “How’d you do on Saturday?”
BR: “I ran good in the 1200, which was a PR. And then for the mile I think I was just in my head and I psyched myself out. So, I went good through the first 600 or something and then just started falling off from there. I never caught the group that gapped me so I finished second to last and ran a 5:08 which is okay. I definitely wanted to be closer to 5:00, if not under but it’s fine.”
RC: “Do you prefer indoor to outdoor track?”
BR: “It depends on the place. I’ve run at Macomb Community College and the atmosphere is just terrible, so I avoid the mile at all costs. It’s so dry that you end up developing a cough and it stays with you the whole day. And, depending on if it’s your first time running there, it might seep over to the next day. You might just keep feeling it. I like it on a 300m track because the facilities are better but it depends on where you are. I like outdoor track in general better.”
RC: “Do you have a favorite memory from a race or running in general?”
BR: “My favorite runs where for my brother’s high school. For his team, they would run to the cider mill from the other coach’s house. It’s like 10 miles there…10.1… and you would run there and eat donuts and have cider afterwards. And you’d get two donuts and they would buy cider for everyone. It was fun. That’s kind of where I figured out that I could handle a half marathon.”
RC: “Have you run a half before?”
BR: “I ran a distance run with Adam [Terwillegar] and Nate [Blosser] and Tom [Brettschneider]. That day I had wanted to run 8, and then no one was going to turn around and we weren’t going that fast, so I decided to keep going and we ended up doing 13.5 [miles]. That was new, but I was pretty happy. That was at 7:00 pace which is decent. After summer practices with my brother’s practices we would play ultimate Frisbee afterwards, so that’s fun.”



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Home state: Michigan
Status: Junior
Year on club: 2
College: College of Social Science
Major: Criminal Justice

Devin's favorite events are the two-hundred and four-hundred meter track races. In addition to training and working out, Devin enjoys playing basketball and football. Devin is one of three sprinting coaches this year on the club. He, with the help of two other members, put together a training plan for the sprinters. After practice one day, Devin sat down with us and let us interview him for this site. Check it out below!
DM: I do go to the gym fairly often. Usually if I’m not practicing, or even days when we have practice, I try to get
in some kind of a workout in the morning, or even after practice. Especially during the summer. The summer was big for me because this season I’m actually trying to beat PRs and actually trying to get a big set goal.
RC: So what PRs are you trying to break? Or what goals do you have that you’re trying to meet this year?
DM: My biggest goal is to win Nationals in the 400. That’s a big goal.
RC: Okay, do you know what time you have do for that? Or are you just kind of looking more at place?
DM: I looked it up. I think the 0:49 was last year’s top run. I hit a 0:50 in high school, but my fastest last year was a 0:52. So I’m just getting back with the shape that I was in high school, since I had a two-year break when I was at CC. But, I think it’s something that if I actually condition and actually get into enough, I think I can actually break it. So I’ve been like really focused. I’ve been trying to get in that mind set to get that goal.
RC: Yeah, that’s awesome!
RC: So is it different being…you and Logan are kind of seen as the sprinting coaches. And this is because you guys have had a lot more experience than a lot of the distance runners have had with sprinting, so do you feel more of a responsibility of how you need to act on the team, or any responsibility toward making sure people are doing the workouts correctly or making sure that no one is getting hurt, or do you still feel just more responsibility on yourself more than for the club?
DM: It’s a little bit of both. It’s nice because we have me, Pat, and Logan. So we spread it out. We all got together to get the workouts together and everything. But I feel like it’s little bit more responsibility. I kind of like it, just because I was one of the main captains in high school, so I’m kind of used to being the person to kind of look out for everybody on the team and whatnot. So, it’s nice to have that position. I like to see my teammates do good and do well in everything. So if I can motivate them in any way I can, I think that’s cool.
RC: Do you have any sort of ways that you motivate them? Motivational speeches or any sort of thing?
DM: Scream.
RC: Oh, you scream at them. Okay.
DM: No, I don’t scream at them. I give people pep talks. They may not work sometimes, but I try my best.
RC: I mean, that’s all we can ask for, right?
DM: Exactly.
RC: How do you stay motivated if you’re busy motivating everyone else?
DM: Basically just by seeing how good people I’ve ran with in the past, seeing how good they are doing. One of my friends who went to Kellogg (which is a school within Wyoming), his name is TJ. My senior year, he was a junior. And he beat me in the 400 at our conference. I think he ran a 0:49 or a 0:48, I think, and that’s as a junior in high school. So that’s pretty fast. So he was a big motivator for me. So whenever I saw him do good, it was one of those “I need to kick it into gear” and I would basically try to go on that same level as him. So it’s kind of like, if I see teammates doing good, it kind of motivates me to also be up at that same level too, so that’s why. I mean, I want people to do good as well, but it motivates me to get up and do as good as them.
RC: So that has kind of carried over to running club? So when you see people on the team doing well, it helps you too?
DM: Yeah.
RC: That’s cool! And then, a lot of people kind of view us as…I mean, we call ourselves the running club. So, is it weird…what do you do during the fall, I guess is what I’m trying to ask. Is it different because you aren’t necessarily competing in the meets with the rest of the club? Or, are you okay with that and you still come to practice and social events and everything?
DM: I’m okay with it. Just the fact that we have the social events and everything. It can still get sprinters if sprinters are interested in joining. But we don’t actually start track, of course, until the spring. The social events and everything are really nice because you can still get together with people, and still meet everybody, and still build actual friendships. So when spring starts, you still know everybody. Despite them being distance runners, you still know people, so you’re not coming into the practices blind, like you don’t know anybody. That’s kind of how it was the first year. I kind of got to know a couple of people—despite me not doing cross country—going into track. I knew a few people, and from there I expanded into knowing a lot of people. So that’s how that worked, and then this year since me and Logan were the sprinting chairs, we tried to actually host workouts for sprinters during the fall. And I think that worked out a little bit. We didn’t have a ton of people show up because as the fall semester went on, I think people kind of didn’t come out as much because it started getting cold or whatever, but we still had a fair amount of people  come. And I think that it’s nice to have that balance: to have sprinting practice once or twice a week so sprinters can come and get a little bit of conditioning in so once the actual season starts, they can come jump right into it. I still felt engaged. I still came to cross country workouts, despite me being a sprinter. It actually helps doing the four eight-hundreds. I mean, you can always put on endurance, so I think doing a cross country work out is really big for sprinters too.
RC: Well especially just as base, maybe, for you guys, so that way, like you said, you can just jump into the sprinting season and have something. This would be instead of just coming off of the holidays and everything and being like “oh, maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all of that.”
DM: oh, yeah, just chilling at home eating a lot. I basically came back. But yeah, if you come straight into the spring, you’re going to be unconditioned. So actually coming to the cross country workouts will really get you conditioned. If you can’t carry it on during break, at least run a little bit. You could then come to actual track and then be somewhat in shape.
RC: And then what is your favorite story from running club?
DM: My favorite for running club probably was Nationals last year. Our 4x4 team, we took seventh overall. Which might not be great, but with all of the other teams in there, we still placed All-American, so that was cool. And just the fact that everyone…I’m not sure that everyone PR’d but our relay team as a whole that year PR’d. And just seeing everyone on the team do really well and just all of us as a team did good. It was just fun. When we all got done, we were just all peppy and happy about what time we got. I think it was a 3:32, which was easily the best time we had had all year. So I really liked that. And also it was a base to carry on until the next year, knowing that we were able to hit a 3:32. And now that we have more people this year to even build on the team, depending on who wants to do it and who doesn’t want to do it, I think that we can easily beat 3:32 this year.
RC: Who was on last year’s team for Nats?
DM: It was me, Phil…Phil! I don’t know what he said. But anyway, it was me, Phil [Baeza], Jaaz [Catterall], and Crek [Andrew Crechiolo]
RC: And since no one’s graduated, do you think that team will still be a thing if everyone is interested in doing it, or do you think it might change up a little bit this year?
DM: I’d hope so. It may change up a little bit because we have a couple of new guys like Chris [Keyes] and Denzel [Harris]: they’re really good four-hundred runners too so that may just depend on who gets the four best times which would be the top spot. If anything, I see it as motivation to get the times.

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Home state: Michigan
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
College: College of Education
​Major: Kinesiology

When Laura filled this survey out last year, she had just finished running the half-marathon at NIRCA Nationals. With this, she described the half as her favorite race. This year, however, Laura is thinking about competing in regular track events. Laura says "If possible, I would spend every day of my life at a beach playing volleyball, drinking beer, reading some Hemingway and getting a good burn. Aside from that, I have season tickets to Spartan football and hockey. As far as sports go, I'm best at sleeping, then golfing, and finally, running."  The picture to the left shows Laura at the 2015 end-of-season track banquet. Laura was awarded the Carlson Carlson paper plate. She was also voted most improved among all of the members. Below is an exclusive interview with Laura. ​

RC: "What do you enjoy about running?"
LC: "I like getting my stress out. It keeps my sanity."
RC: "Do you have sanity?"
LC: "You know, there’s points in time where I probably don’t, but after a run I feel better. It’s definitely somewhat there. And the Carlson Carlson thing? I enjoyed my last name so much that I wanted it to be my first name."
RC: "Oh, come on. That isn’t the story. What actually is the story behind the Carlson Carlson ID thing?"
LC: "Okay, so during AOP I didn’t send in a picture. When the woman asked me what I would prefer to be called, she was like “Would you prefer to be called Carlson.” And I’m thinking in my head, like “Yes, that’s my last name.” She didn’t tell me that she meant it to be my nickname though. So, hence, the Carlson Carlson name. I just go along with it."
RC: "So when you hand people your ID they think your name is Carlson Carlson?"
LC: "Yeah. I get a lot of weird looks from the ID people in the caf, especially when they say my name. You know, there’s one of those people at Shaw. She actually talked to me about it. And she like, made a line. There was this line of people waiting and she asked me about my name tag. She asked me if it was really Carlson."
RC: "What did you say?"
LC: "I said no. Also, my real name is on the back of my ID, so she could have just looked at that. And then she was like “Okay, I’ll start calling you by your first name. And then a couple of days after, I went back there and she still called me Carlson. So I was like, okay! Thanks for remembering!"
RC: "Would you like the running club to call you Carlson?"
LC: "Um, I don’t really care. As long as it’s not something derogatory or mean or makes me cry at night. I don’t want to be called stupid, or butthead, or AL."
RC: "I like the name AL."
LC: "But yeah I don’t really care; people can call me Carlson. I mean, it’s whatever people like. I’m not picky. As long as I know that you call me that. Otherwise, I won’t respond to you."

Home state: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 4
Colleges: College of Education and College of Engineering
Double major in Kinesiology and Material Sciences Engineering, with a concentration in biomedical engineering 

Christina is the 2015-16 Vice President of Administration. Last year, she was the travel coordinator for the club. Aside from participating and leading in running club, Christina enjoys swimming, biking, eating, reading, watching hockey, doing puzzles, playing euchre, and playing board games. We got a chance to talk to Christina about her time on the club. Check out the interview below for her responses! If you want to learn more about Christina, feel free to visit her blurb on the "Officer" page of this website under "Members."

​Running Club: "So, you’ve been on running club all four years?"
Christina Casali: "Yep!"
RC: "And then for officers, you’ve done that twice?"
CC: "Yep."
RC: "And how does an officer—being a leader of the team—affect the social aspect of running? Does it inhibit you at all from being more of a social runner? Or, are you a social runner?"
CC: "I run for both the social and competitive aspects of it. But being an officer is definitely…I feel like less of a member, sort of. Is that really bad? I feel like less of a member and more like I have a responsibility. Like when we’re at meets, I don’t just relax and focus on myself. I try and make sure that the girls know when they’re racing, and that everyone has their spikes, and those kinds of things."
RC: "So because you went from being a member to an officer, do you still have as much fun with the club?"
CC: "It’s a different kind of fun. We’re more in the know of things, and it’s fun to get to give back to the club and organize it, and make friends with all of the officers, and definitely get to go to everything, and know about everything in advance. But at the same time, sometimes I miss being a member and just not having any responsibilities and just going along with it."
RC: "Do you like cross country or track better?"
CC: "Track."
RC: "What are your events?"
CC: "I like the 1500 (meter run) and the 4 by 8 (meter relay)."
RC: "Have you ever won anything of note?"
CC: "Our girls won the 4x800 National Championship last year, which was awesome."
RC: "Okay, and that was a team of you…"
CC: "Erin Zimmer, Nicole Mosteller, and Val Morel. And Val is gone, but Tarah is back."
RC: "Okay, so you think that for the spring probably you, Erin, Nicole, and then Tarah?"
CC: "I don’t know. I think we have a lot of incoming girls that are good at the 800. Like [Lauren] McGrath runs a 2:20 and Erin [Zimmer] is on another level this year, so I’m sure she’ll be fast. But that’s definitely one of my goals: to be on that team still. But I think we could still win it without all of our top 800 runners on it.
RC: "And then, for next year because you’re not graduating, are you going to still be a part of the team?"
CC: "Yes, of course."
RC: "Back as a member?"
CC: "Vice President emeritus."
RC: "What?"
CC: "You know how the Pope is…Pope Benedict is the one who is not the current pope, he’s like the pope emeritus."
RC: "Oh, okay. Yeah, I’ve never heard of anyone using that."
CC: "Really? I think it means that he’s not the pope but he’s still alive. So like, I’m not the vice president, but I’m still on the club. That’s kind of a bad way to describe it."
RC: "Okay, but you aren’t going to run for another position or anything?"
CC: "No."
RC: "Are you looking forward to that? I mean, you said that you kind of miss the aspect of just being a member."
CC: "Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to just kind of focusing on being a member and not having the extra responsibility of making sure everyone has all of their ducks in a row."
RC: "And then when you first joined running club, what were you looking for?"
CC: "I was looking to still compete, or find a way to still run and compete after high school. So when I was actually looking at colleges, I was either looking for a place that I could walk on to like a D3 program or I found out on Purdue’s website that they had a running club, so that’s how I found out about it. And then I kind of made sure that all of the other schools I applied to had a running club. I knew that would be my group of friends and the people I would get along with."
RC: "Was that how it was in high school?"
CC: "Yeah. It would just be like having teammates and really fun. And we just have so much in common, staying in shape and all of that."
RC: "And then what is your favorite aspect of running, in general?"
CC: "I like hanging out with my friends. So that’s like a dual purpose: you get to work out but you also get to see your friends. It’s like your free time."
RC: "And then what about your least favorite?"
CC: "Sometimes it’s just not fun."

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Home state: Michigan
Status: Freshman
Year on club: 1
College: College of Communication, Arts and Letters
Major: Journalism

Emily loves both cross country and track. She raced Spartan Grand Classic this past October and traveled with the club to Kentucky to race Nationals this past season. Emily's favorite track event is the 4x400 meter relay, but she also races the 200m and 400m open races. In addition to running, Emily enjoys reading--specifically fiction novels--traveling, and performing. Emily was involved in the drama department in high school and hopes to continue with theatre at Michigan State in the future.
  "I love cross country and track, and I did it all four years in high school so I wanted to continue it, but I obviously was not fast enough to be on the actual team. And I met a lot of new people, especially at Nationals, which was cool because I was nervous about not finding a group of friends because this school is so big. But I have in running club. So it’s fun. I kind of assumed that there was some kind of running club here, so at Sparticipation I was like ‘I have to find this, I have to find their tent.’ We went through every single tent to try and find the table. I just kind of assumed there was something, and I asked a few people that went here and they were like “yeah, there’s a club.” [My] Least favorite [thing about running] is probably long runs. I run cross country but I can’t run super far. Every year at cross country camp [in high school] we ran a 10-mile so that’s the farthest I’ve run. Meeting new people is my favorite thing [about running]."

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Home state: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 3
College: Eli Broad College of Business
Major: Accounting

Before Alex transferred to Michigan State, he ran for Adrian College, a D3 school. Alex's favorite events are the track 5k and the track 10k. His indoor club track time for the 5k is 16:33, and his outdoor club 5k time is 16:21.3. In addition to competing, Alex loves professional sports, college sports, volleyball, photography, skiing, and traveling.
  "I would say that the transition from going to running for a Division 3 team to running for the club has been pretty rough for me personally. It was really challenging going from being in a close group of guys--that are now really close friends--to being the new guy on the club who didn’t know anyone, especially since I missed the entire freshman bonding experience here. In the beginning, it was rough and I felt out of place for a while, but eventually I got to know the guys of KARL. Kevin, Adam, and Ryan were very welcoming to me in the club and made me feel very welcomed. Once I found a good group of guys, it really made me feel a little comfortable transitioning to the club. For me I love the competitive aspect of running club. I am a very competitive person, so I love being able to compete especially--after coming from Adrian and running for the team [there]. I really look forward to track season every year because throughout my running career I have done exceptionally well at track. I have never really had a good cross country season, so I am basically all for track at this point. I am really looking forward to competing in the 5k this coming season where I am finally looking to break my lifetime goal of breaking 16 minutes in the 5k. I have trained hard throughout the summer and look forward to getting back on that track and breaking that time. I just think there’s something to running those long races on the track where you lose yourself a bit and just get in a rhythm."

Home state: Michigan
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
College: College of Education
Major: Kinesiology

Jessica is the fundraising coordinator for the club. She organized the Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser in October and convinced ASMSU to fund the club's trip to Kentucky for NIRCA Cross Country Nationals. Jessica is also involved with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ). Along with running, the officer position, and CRU, Jess enjoys hiking, traveling, gymnastics, soccer, and equestrian (specifically dressage).
  "After high school, I was not ready to give up the competitive side of running. When I found out about the MSU running club, it sounded perfect for what I wanted to do. It is great to have the social aspect of the club with meeting new friends and runners, but also the competitive meets that the club offers sparked my interest. The meets are definitely some of the best times I have had with the club. They are much more relaxed than high school or varsity collegiate meets, but still offer that competitve edge where you can really see how much you have grown as a runner and with the team. I would encourage everyone on the club to try running in a meet, even if you are not super competitive because they are a lot of fun.
​    I chose to run for an officer position for this year because I wanted to be more involved with the team. Being an officer allows you to get to know the team better and know the ins and outs of what goes on behind the scenes. I love being able to help out with the logistics of the team and making things run smoothly for all of our members."

Home State: Michigan
Status: Junior
Year on club: 1
College: College of Arts and Letters
Major: Apparel and Textile Design

Brooke's favorite events are hurdles, long jump, javelin. Brooke enjoys clay, riding around campus on her moped, and spending time with her boyfriend (Cam). Brooke's 5k time for the club is 23:53.1 and her 6k time for the club is 34:56. She will be competing for the club at the upcoming Nationals meet in Lexington, Kentucky.
"I joined to get competitive again and active. I love running for a purpose so being able to race again feels great. Joining the club was the best decision I've made at school because I've met so many awesome people and we have so many fun social events. Everyone makes it so comfortable to just be goofy and be myself and I love that."

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Home State: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 4
Colleges: Honors College and College of Engineering
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Kevin Glime (also known as Glime-Time) is one of the top male runners for the club. In fact, Kevin's 5k and 8k cross country times are both in the top ten for MSU running club records. Outside of running club, Kevin is a Math Learning Center Supervisor at Brody, and his primary hobby is eating. Running club received the privilege of interviewing Kevin after he broke his 8k PR at the 2015 Nirca Regional meet. Kevin's personal record before the meet was 27:27. His new PR is 27:12.  
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An interview with Kevin:
Running club: Alright, Kevin, What’s your favorite part of running?
Kevin Glime: I just love running. I love to compete. I love to get out there and race.
RC: If you had one word to describe the way you felt when you were racing, what would it be?
KG: Justin Jones.*
RC: That’s two words. Could you give me a different word, like a noun or an adjective?
KG: A noun or an adjective. Running.
RC: What’s the best race you’ve ever had?
KG: Detroit marathon was my absolute favorite race.
RC: Was it your first marathon?
KG: Yeah.
RC: And then did you do anything after that marathon of note?
KG: I ate a lot of food. I think I ate about three pounds of Mexican food at Xochimilco’s.
RC: Did you qualify for the Boston Marathon?
KG: Yep! I ran a 2:44 that day. I’m racing [the Boston Marathon] next spring.   
RC: What’s your best time for the 8k?
KG: 27:12, unofficially.
RC: How do you feel about PR’ing?
KG: I feel great! I haven’t PR’ed in two years in the 8k. I feel great. I feel like I’m ready to race a little bit faster at Nationals.
RC: are you excited for nationals?
KG: I am very pumped. It’s free, it’s always a good weekend whenever you stay away at some other college campus area, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
RC: So do you try to stay with anyone on the team when you run?
KG: Yes, today I just had my eyes on Adam [Terwillegar] the entire race.
RC: Did you end up beating him or...
KG: You know what, we were running neck and neck for the last 3k, and we just tried to go and work off of each other and he actually pulled away from me at the end.
RC: Do you think that he was the cause of your PR?
KG: No. I don’t want to talk it away from Adam but I think I was going to PR today without his help. But he definitely made me PR better.
RC: And what was the difference between this PR and your last PR?
KG: My last PR was set on a home course that I ran all through high school on and this course was just brand new to me, so I consider this a better PR and it’s more official. So I like this PR better.
RC: And then time wise?
KG: I dropped about 15-16 seconds.
RC: Have you been training a lot?
KG: Yeah, I train every day with the running club.
RC: Do you like running club?
KG: I love running club. Running club is great!
RC: If you had one word to describe running club what would it be?
KG: I’m so bad at thinking of only one word!
RC: Okay, you can have like three.
KG: Squandalicious.*
RC: That’s one word.
KG: Yep.
RC: Okay… and you’ve done running club for the past few years?
KG: Four years.
RC: And then are you doing it next year? Because you’re spending another semester here?
KG: Yep! And another year. Yep, I’ll be here.
RC: And is there anything else you would like to say about running club or running or anything? Any last comments?
KG: Nope! That’s my last comment I guess.

*Interviewer's note: Justin Jones is a running club alum who was very fast and came to MSU after running for York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois, which had a documentary made on the cross country team, called "The Long Green Line." "Squandalicious" refers to Senior Ryan Squanda who was the MSU RC  featured member for Week 9.

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Home State: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 4
College: College of Engineering
Major: Mechanical Engineering

​Jess’s favorite events are cross country and the half-marathon. In addition to the club, Jess works at Playmakers and in the ISE/ISB departments on campus. Other interests include playing guitar, painting, coloring, and cuddling her lizard, Almond.

“The longest I’ve run at one time is 18 miles. At the end of a long run I mostly feel like my feet are tired, but also like I’ve accomplished a lot for the day. It’s kind of exhilarating to know that you just did something that a lot of people would never even consider. As far as what I think about [on my long runs], I tend to make up stories in my head about people I pass or people I know or I just ponder life. I believe I’ve done 5 [half marathons] so far, and four 10 mile races. No plans to do a full though. I would like to try for 25 at some point though. I also have a trail half on my bucket list. I’m definitely a distance runner at heart.”
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Home state: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 4
College: College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Major: Journalism

Ryan's favorite events are the chocolate milk mile and the hot dog 4x400 meter relay. In addition to the club, Ryan is the sports editor of the State News and is the figurehead of the Squanda Squad.  
Have a Twitter? Follow Squanda @squandaryan Follow the Squad @SQUADrun13
An interview with Ryan Squanda:
Interviewer: "What is your favorite memory of running club?
RS: "I can make people do really stupid things--I don't know why they listen to me. One time, I literally made like 40 people run through the Red Cedar River. It was amazing."
Interviewer: "How did you accomplish that?"
RS: "I said, 'You guys, we're going to do this thing today. It's to commemorate Chase Taylor. It's Dreamweaving with Squanda. And we're going to run across this river.'"
Interviewer: "And you said that there were 40 people that followed you?"
RS: "Yeah, it was absurd."
Interviewer: "Were they really new members?"
RS: "Yeah, they were incredibly new. They--"
Jonathan Sollish: "Ryan Squanda is an eligible bachelor. Any single women who would like to give Ryan Squanda a call, call him up. Find him on Facebook. His Twitter is @squandaryan. He is sports editor of the State News."
RS: "My other interests include Jonathan Sollish and Lucas Bowman."
Interviewer: "So can we go back to this Dreamweaving thing for a second?"
RS: "Dreamweaving! It's one of my favorite pastimes."
Interviewer: "Can you give me a direct definition of this Dreamweaving?
RS: "You just lead people on this adventure run. You run through rivers and forests and jaywalk. You're just stupid."
Interviewer: "And then have their dreams been weaved?"
RS: "Yes, you just kinda weave in and out of places. You can ding-dong-ditch houses--"
Jonathan Sollish: "Squanda has dreams of a very attractive Lutheran--Lutheran?"
RS: "I am Lutheran"
Jonathan Sollish: "Lutheran girl. So if you're Lutheran, even better for Squanda."
RS: "I hit ninth in the order of my church softball team."
RS: "That's it. That's all. I don't have anything else to say."

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Home state: Oregon
Status: Junior
Year on club: 3
College: James Madison
Major: Political Theory

Jaaz's favorite events are the 400m, 800m, and 1500m runs and the 4x400m and 4x800m relays. In addition to the club, Jaaz is a part of the MSU Pondering Society. He also really enjoys Cheez-Its.

​"My favorite memory is actually two races in one. First, running the 4x4 with the guys at Nationals was awesome because the 4x4 is just the best race ever invented. But then as soon as we finished, I had an even better time watching our other team run the relay with a hot dog for a baton (and eat it on the last leg--that's just ridiculous) and the entire stadium was yelling for them. I really can't think of a better way to close out a season than that."

Home state: Michigan
Status: Senior
Year on club: 3
College: College of Engineering
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Andrew was a 2009 and 2011 junior olympian for the decathlon. For the club, he races the 400 meter dash and 400 meter hurdles. Andrew holds some of the club track records and was All-American for the NIRCA 400 meter hurdles. Additionally, Andrew works in MSU's Orthopedic Biomechanics Lab on projects related to footwear and prosthetics research and development. He enjoys soccer, sailing, and MSU athletics.

​"I joined running club to make new friends with a shared interest and to compete in various track and field events."   

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Status: Sophomore
Home State: Ohio
Years on the club: 2         
College: James Madison
Major: International Relations

Annie is notorious on the club for her baking skills. From homemade cookies to monkey bread, she never fails to please the hungry members with sweet treats. In addition to baking, Annie enjoys rowing, triathlons, her dog, and knitting. Her favorite events are cross country, discus, and the half-marathon. Annie is the social coordinator on the club, and has a lot of fun in store for these upcoming seasons.

​"I think that social events are important because you get to see another side of people. When running, it isn't always easy to get to know everyone because of the many different paces, but the social events allow us to really touch base. From past social events, I have come to find some of my best friends. Girls/guys nights are always a favorite of mine. I get to bond with the girls that I wouldn't normally talk to because their running pace is way faster than mine. From the social events, I have also had some of my fondest memories. One time we ran through a river on a fun run, and that ended up being one of the best runs that year!"

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Status: Sophomore
Home State: Michigan
Years on the club: 2         
College: James Madison & College of Arts and Sciences 
Areas of study: Comparative Cultures and Politics, Spanish, and Arabic

Ali has many interests in addition to running distance events for the club. She loves being outdoors and being environmentally friendly. Ali also paints, is into photography, and enjoys learning about food, nutrition, and cooking. Ali considers herself a "travel junkie," as could be made apparent by her majors.       
"I decided to join rc because I love to run socially, and I figured I could make it less intense than xc in high     school. It was one of my best decisions freshman year! I met a ton of hilarious, down to earth people and have improved as a runner more than I ever thought I would (finishing my first half marathon with rc was an amazing experience I won't forget ) I also want to say that the club is special. At first I was intimidated and thought that I wouldn't fit the club because a lot of the runners are very experienced and fast. I didn't think I could catch up and run with them. I was coming off of iron deficiency and I didn't have my full energy. But I remember the first day I went to rc and I ran with Megan, Christina, and Val. They made me feel welcomed and the club has never stopped doing that. This summer I'll be coming back from two surgeries and will be in poor running shape, but I know that the team will be there no matter how far and fast I can run."

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Status: Sophomore
Home State: Michigan
Years on the club: 1         
College: Lyman Briggs
Major: Pre-Vet

Donvee is one of the few field event members on the club. He did high jump in high school and currently tied for the club's record jump at 1.68 meters for the indoor track season. When he isn't training, Donvee works on his League of Legend skills. His other prominent interests include Xbox Live and "women."

​"Being a primary field event badass has not at all made me feel excluded or looked at differently [from the other members], like I feared it would. Instead, I feel welcomed to the family of field event bros, as well as to the run club. I would most definitely suggest run club if you like working hard, running hard, and playing hard."

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Status: Sophomore 
Home State: Minnesota
Years on the club: 2         
College: College of Engineering
Major: Computer Science

Jacob is a distance runner on the club. His favorite event is the half-marathon and prefers to race any distance that is farther than the half mile. In addition to running with the club, Jacob has run two marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Though he spends a lot of time running, Jacob is well-versed in other sports, and could, for example, talk about soccer for hours.

​"When I was in 6th grade, I had ambitions to become a star football player. And at the time, I actually was pretty good compared to my peers. But then 7th and 8th grade happened and I realized that I actually wasn't any good at football. So I began running, but mostly because I just didn't want to become fat. I eventually fell in love with the sport which has now become one of my passions. It only made sense that I would want to surround myself with other people at MSU who share a similar interest. So I joined this club, and it has been terrific."

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 Status: Junior
Home State: Michigan
Years on the club: 3        
College: James Madison
Major: Social Relations and Policy​

Jonathan's favorite events are the 4x4, 1500m, Mile, 5000m, Cross 5k, road 10k, and ½ marathon. Aside from running, Jonathan plays IM basketball. Jonathan's other interests include Ryan Squanda, Lucas Bowman, traveling, watching movies, and lifeguarding.  


​"During the mile at the Penn State meet last year, I realized that I had probably taken it out too hard. Right around halfway through, Lucas passed me. We began flip-flopping positions, and I was behind with about 75 meters to go. We both began to kick and I ended up beating him by less than a second. We crossed the line laughing. It is this great moment that shows what running club is all about. But, most importantly, I beat Lucas."

Status: Graduated Runner
Home State: Michigan
Years on the club:  4       
College: Social Science
Major: Psychology

In addition to the club, Ustina has been a research assistant, an Engineering Assistant Aid, and a Student Alumni Development Aid. Ustina is also very into photography. Though she is always fighting injuries, Ustina said that her favorite running season was cross country.

​"My favorite part of the club is being able to meet people and maintain friendships that last a lifetime. I met my best friends through the club, and through injuries, finals, break-ups, and ultimately graduation, we stuck together. This team is a family."