Home state: Michigan
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
College: Lyman Briggs College
Major: Zoology

​Damon’s favorite events are the 800m run, 1600m, and the cross country 5k. In addition to the club, Damon is involved with Pre-Vet Club, Briggs Ambassadors, and St. John’s men’s group. His interests include ultimate frisbee, beach volleyball, dogs, and parties. Though Damon has not run competitively for a long time, he found his love for the sport of running during high school.

“When I was little, I was a very dedicated and hard-working soccer player. I continued playing up until junior year of high school when I was cut from the team. My coach said “maybe you should give cross country a try this year.” I was determined to last through just one season but eventually fell in love with the sport. I ran track my junior year as well and continued both until graduation. Even though I got into running later than most people, I have found a sport and a hobby that I enjoy doing every day of my life. I’ve met some great people and have made a name for myself throughout the years. My only regret is that I would have liked to find running much earlier.”

Home state: Michigan
Status: Junior
Year on club: 2
College: Broad College of Business
Major: Accounting

Wes is part of the MSU Evans Scholars and enjoys playing poker, video games, and studying military history in addition to running. Though he was not able to spend much of his first semester on the club due to the Evans Scholars requirements, Wes ran for the club during his second semester for track and raced the half marathon at the 2015 NIRCA Track Nationals. The half marathon, in addition to both the track and cross country 5k, is Wes’ favorite event. Check out our interview with Wes below:
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Running club: “What’s your favorite part about running club?”
Wes Diener: “My favorite part about running club is the camaraderie, always coming out with other people to run with. It’s so enjoyable--especially after a long summer by yourself running every day. And then you come here with other people. It’s refreshing, and it’s easier to run faster.”
RC: “And you tend to race the higher mileage events. What are your favorite events?”
WD: “The half marathon and the 5k. The 5k on the track can be a lot of fun. A lot of people hate it because you have to go around in a circle a bunch of times, but I enjoy it for the competitive aspect.”
RC: “How do you stay sane during all of those laps--especially on the indoor?”
WD: “Just by hunting other people, just by drafting up onto people, knowing my lap splits: more-or-less just my competitive side makes it easy to stay in the race.”
RC: “Do you prefer the track 5k to the cross country 8k?”
WD: “Yes. I hate the 8k. It’s a longer race which I should enjoy, but just because of how fast you have to run it, it can be really difficult. It’s definitely the biggest change from high school: going from the 5k to the 8k”
RC: “Would you prefer the cross country 5k over the track 5k?”
WD: “I would actually prefer the cross country 5k because the lap thing can get a little annoying. The cross country 5k is probably my second favorite race to the half marathon. Depending on the next couple of weeks, if I’m healthy the half marathon at Nationals will be the second time racing there.”
RC: “Are you currently not healthy?”
WD: “I have been dealing the plantar fasciitis and it sucks. Don’t run with shoes for too long because if you do you can get plantar fasciitis. It’s a really nagging thing, and I think that I’m finally kind of over it. I got new shoes, I’ve been stretching and working on my own.”
RC: “Have you only run the one half marathon so far?”
WD: “I have run three: Indy last year for track nats, the Indianapolis half marathon--which you run around the Indy Motor Speedway, which was cool--and then the Detroit half marathon which was a phenomenal race.”
RC: “So will you race on the track if you end up not being well enough to race the half marathon again?”
WD: “I don’t know. I’m debating running the 5k on the track, and if I’m really not in shape, I’ll throw disc.”
RC: “Have you thrown disc before?”
WD: “Not competitively, but I’ve been practicing, so we’ll see how it goes.”
RC: “Okay, so did you run throughout high school?”
WD: “Yes I did. I ran cross country for four years and track for two years due to a coaching issue. I ran starting in middle school in eighth grade through now.”
RC: “When you were in high school did you also do the longer events?”
WD: “Yes. In track, I never did less than a mile except when I had to for a 4x8 and for cross country, obviously, I ran a 5k.”
RC: “You were voted as the Team Player for the cross country season this past year. How do you feel about that?”
WD: “I was very excited when I heard about it. I couldn’t go because I had other obligations during the banquet that night. It was an amazing honor for me, for my peers, for this club. This club has been phenomenal to me and for them to acknowledge me in that light was just an amazing personal experience.”
RC: “That’s great.”
RC: “What’s your favorite thing about running?”
WD: “Competing. I love competing. That’s the thing about running for me: it gives me an outlet to compete. This as running club gives me the opportunity to compete past high school.”
RC: “Is it hard to balance the requirements of the Evans House with running club?”
WD: “Not really. Not after the first semester; the first semester of the Evans Scholar is the worst and freshman year in general is pretty bad because it’s a semi-fraternity type deal. So you have to pledge in and it’s not the best thing in the world, but it’s cool because you get to learn about everybody in the house. After the first year, the requirements and the extra stuff kind of goes away. I started working this semester at the student athlete services as a tutor, tutoring student athletes, which is awesome. I love working with people who are great in something else, but aren’t so great in something like academics and being able to help them. That has been a really cool opportunity I have been doing this semester. Other than that, I’ve been focused on school and running.”  

Home state: New York
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
Colleges: Honors College and College of Engineering
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Materials Science

In addition to the club, Jake is involved with South Church bible studies and the Outdoors Club. He enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, and backpacking . When Jake is healthy and injury-free, his favorite events are the cross country 8k, and the track 3k and mile. However, Jake has had two huge injuries that have kept him from participating in track for both of his years on the club. In order to combat the frequent injuries, Jake has decided to increase the calcium in his diet. Check it out below:
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Running Club: “Okay. Explain the milk story.”
Jake Wojnicki: “Okay. So I have broken a lot of bones--too many for my liking--so I thought ‘I do not have enough calcium’ so I decided to drink more milk so I have more calcium and less breaking. It hasn’t worked so far, but I am going to keep trying.”
RC: “How many glasses of milk do you drink a day?”
JW: “I drink seven.”
RC: “All at the same time?”
JW: “Not all at the same time. But that would be impressive.”
RC: “How do you split it up throughout the day?”
JW: “I have two for breakfast, two for lunch, and three for dinner.”
RC: “Do you like the taste of milk?”
JW: “Not particularly. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s not my favorite thing to drink.”
RC: “You just do it for the bones?”
JW: “Pretty much.”
RC: “You come to every meet and practice; does that ever get discouraging because you haven’t been able to run?”
JW: “Not really. I see it more as encouraging that people are training and then I see them run fast. So, I’m like ‘when I get back I am going to train hard and then I’ll run fast; and that will be good.’ So yeah, just trying to motivate myself to keep working even while I can’t run so when I get back I can be doing what people have been doing these past few months.”
RC: “Have you been doing any cross training?”
JW: “I have been swimming and biking.”
RC: “Do you do that every day before you come to practice?”
JW: “I try to swim every day. If I don’t swim because of pool hours, I will bike. But yeah, I shoot for trying to do it every day. Sometimes it doesn’t happen--that’s another story--but I try.”
RC: “When you’re healthy, what’s your favorite thing about running?”
JW: “Winning, to be honest. It hasn’t happened in a while, but I enjoy winning a lot, so that’s a plus. And just being in shape. It’s a big stress relief. It gets my mind off school so I really appreciate that. Pretty much all of the other times during the school year my mind is on academics, so it’s the one place I can find a reprieve.”
RC: “What races have you won in the past?”
JW: “Not many very lately, but in high school I would win races, just random races.”
RC: “For track or cross country, or both?”
JW: “Both. But that was because not everyone was as fast as they are here and I was faster.”
RC: “You were also healthier.”
JW: “That is true as well.”
RC: “Have you had a healthy season yet since being on running club?”
JW: “I have not. Last year I had a stress fracture in my tibia and this year I broke my ankle playing football. Not a good track record.”
RC: “When did you get your stress fracture?”
JW: “I got it during cross country freshman year. It just kept hurting, kept hurting. So I didn’t run at nationals because it hurt too much to train. Then, I went home over break and got that diagnosed and missed all of track. [And then I got injured] over winter break playing football this year.”
RC: “So you weren’t injured during cross country this year?”
JW: “I did do cross country. I was thinking full seasons as far as years here.”
RC: “But you were healthy during this past cross country season?”
JW: “Yes, that was fantastic.”
RC: “What was your favorite race?”
JW: “I liked MC5--as much as everyone hates it. Personally, I like the hills because people hate them more than me, so then I place better. And I like that.”
RC: “Would you consider yourself pretty competitive?”
JW: “Yes. I may not have competitive times, but I am a competitive person.”
RC: “What is your least favorite part about running?”
JW: “My least favorite part about running is being injured and getting injured.”
RC: “So then do you also not enjoy football?”
JW: “I do still enjoy football. I just don’t like the injury part there either.”
RC: “You tend to run longer races. So what’s the furthest you’ve ever run?”
JW: “The furthest I’ve ever run was I think thirteen miles on the treadmill...which was stupid. But that happened.”
RC: “Was this before or after your stress fracture?”
JW: “This was before. It could have contributed to it; I don’t know. But I prefer--when I’m doing my training runs--to do between five and eight. I like trail runs especially. For trails I would go longer because there is less pounding on my legs--which are apparently very weak.”
RC: “Do you usually run with the same group of people or do you prefer to run alone?”
JW: “I like to run with people. I think it helps push me because, like I said, I’m competitive. So I don’t want to be beat. So I keep pushing myself so I’m not beat even if they pick up the pace.”
RC: “So if you end up not winning a race, do you get super upset? Or, how is your mindset after you win or don’t win a race?”
JW: “As long as I do my best, I’m good with whatever happens. It’s only when I look back at the race and I’m like ‘wow, I could have really pushed it a lot more and I have a lot left right now.’ That’s when it bothers me. But if I give it my all, then that’s all I can do. So I’m happy with that, whatever the result is.”