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Joanna Halterman, Milligan University · The Red Banner Race Report

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast, where we dive into the mindset, miles, and moments that make up NAIA cross-country and track and field.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Our guest today is Joanna Halterman of Milligan University, who has seen immense progress through the last two years of racing.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: During her freshman cross-country season two years ago, she had a 5K season best of 1945.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: This season as a junior, she's been on a PR streak, dropping almost two minutes over the span of her career.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: On October 9th, she clocked yet another personal best, tallying a 1748 in the 5K race at the Royals Cross-Country Challenge.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: She placed 16th as an individual and helped her team to a fifth place showing.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Joanna has earned three Appalachian Athletic Conference women's cross-country runner-of-the-week honors so far this season, and she is a big part of the current number three NAI national ranking the Milligan Ladies hold.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: From 32nd in the conference as a freshman to the projected favorite to win the championship this weekend, Joanna has learned that paying attention to the small details, knowing your identity and worth outside of sports, and finding the joy in racing again have all added up to a winning combination.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: My name's Joanna.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, welcome to the pod.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: We have a busy week ahead for most of the NAIA.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: We're looking at conference coming up this weekend.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: And your name has frequently been mentioned as a favorite for your conference.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: So before we dive into the big stuff on the radar, let's backtrack a little bit.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about how you first got involved in the sport of running and who or what brought you to the sport.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I first started running in elementary school, actually.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: We had like a little run club before school, and we would get tow tokens.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I loved like adding up how many tow tokens I could get.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that was super fun, but I never really like saw it more than that um until my brother joined cross-country in middle school.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then from there we just kind of followed his footsteps, and all my siblings did it.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: I originally didn't really want to do it.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I just kind of felt like I had to, and then I ended up starting to love it.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, what helped you decide to choose Milligan University for your collegiate home and also your running career as a college athlete?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um at first I didn't really know if I wanted to run in college.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that if that was like really an opportunity I had.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um but just I kept seeing like familiar names pop up that kept committing um from my area to Milligan University.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it kind of popped up on my radar that way.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I just thought I should check it out.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and once I did, I just felt like very valued as a runner.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um and like my confidence just like going into running um at Milligan um was there.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I didn't feel like um just like deciding whether or not I wanted to run college was very hard.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm really happy I ended up where I am.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I just as an athlete um I feel really valued being where I'm at, um which I'm really grateful for.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm sure that's an important part of the success that you're seeing as well.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I have to ask, I know you're a twin, so was it hard to pick a different college and separate from your sister, or was that something that wasn't such a hard decision to make?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: For us, um, that was kind of what we had in mind was to split off.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not be like we love each other, um, but we had just been on the same team for so long, we kind of wanted our own thing.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's kind of fun to have a little rivalry there.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um both being at like top NAI schools.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's cool.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I know that's a unique relationship.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: So um some twins like to go together, some, like you said, like to make their own way and find their own identity apart from each other.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I was just curious how you felt about it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: So what do you love about your team?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what is it about the culture, your teammates?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: What is the atmosphere that just makes you feel like it's something special?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think um really our positivity really thrives here.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're all very motivating, like on the course, at a meet, or just at practice.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're always very uplifting and just cheering each other on.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're also a very determined and ambitious group.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So um just always pushing each other to be better.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and there's so many great athletes here.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just very inspiring and really cool to be a part of.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So just that culture.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we're all each other's best friends.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really fun.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely teammates become friends for a lifetime, which I found as well when I was running in college.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still friends with a lot of my teammates.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it definitely develops some deep relationships.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what are you studying?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: What's your major?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my major is business.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have focused in finance and an econ minor.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: So are you a person that is good at math and enjoys it?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I do, yeah.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: That was my guess because I am not, and I am very um much in admiration of people who are good with numbers because I mean I can manage my own money, but that's about it.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you think?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: If we look back, I was just doing a little research.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: I always like to come in with some stats.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think has been um the big factors that have turned around your times so dramatically this season?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: And before you answer, just for the listener, I want them to put this into perspective.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, and you can correct me on any stat.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: I know the internet is not always 100% accurate, but your freshman cross country season, your PR in the 5K was 1945.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then this season you've run a 1748.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, in the span of two years, almost two whole minutes.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you think are the main factors or elements that have kind of elevated you to where like NAI Track and Field Central, Cross Country Central is mentioning you as like the favorite for the conference?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, your team is ranked top three in the country.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: How has that all kind of fell into place for you and what's made it happen?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I would say I don't feel like there's like one major thing that like impacted my running.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I've really just like found a lot more joy and love for running in the past year.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um I my like running journey hasn't always been like the smoothness.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I faced a lot of injuries.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um that has set me back, but like I just I started feeling good and started loving it again.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um at the end of cross last year, I ended up getting injured, but I didn't let that stop me.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like I took I was started building confidence and I just took that into like my injury and cross-training, and I was super excited um going into track just because I felt like there was more there.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like for the first time, I just felt like really confident.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then in track season last year, I ended up I think I PR'd almost in every race I ran.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: So just that confidence um carried into this season um made a big impact.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: I also started being more intentional about like my sleep and recovery, um, also fueling.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I think those might be like the main like factors that um also led into just improving a lot, um, just focusing on the recovery aspect as well.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think that just having experience over the years too, like giving yourself the time to develop as a collegiate athlete has also played a role?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would think so.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And just like I've had to be so patient um and just trusting the process.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that can't always be easy, but um just being patient, I guess.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is a piece of advice that you would give a runner who's maybe looking at coming out of high school or perhaps a junior college um that maybe you wish that you had been told by someone earlier and you just needed to maybe learn it for yourself or you had to figure it out as you went, and you would you would pass this on to somebody else.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say um you just gotta believe in yourself.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: That wasn't always easy for me.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially being surrounded by so many great runners, just believing in yourself, not giving up and knowing your worth.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but also that your identity doesn't have to be in running.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and to be good, like running doesn't have to be the most important thing in your life to be good.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's something I had to learn.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I really placed it like as the most important thing.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that was something that I thought like maybe that's why I wasn't doing as good, was because I didn't make it the most important thing in my life.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um but just learning to believe in myself um and just building that confidence, um, especially in the college search, just like being confident that people want me and I like I'm in a spot that I should be in.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um would be the advice I would give someone looking to going into college.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um and just also another piece of advice that has like changed my running um is like doing recovery as a part of your training, not just as like the reward.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and just like being very intentional in your recovery, whether that be taking your easy runs easy or um fueling.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's so many different aspects of recovering, hydration, all of that.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I would say just that's a part of your training.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good piece of advice as well.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting to me how many athletes say once they stopped making running their entire life, you know, obviously they're still training, they're still prioritizing things like you're mentioning, recovery and fueling.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: But once they stopped having it be their identity, they actually improved because their life was more balanced.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I find that really interesting because sometimes, you know, running can overtake everything else.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that requires a ton of commitment and a ton of determination and dedication.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: But a lot of people can't find themselves outside of that.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a really great point that you made.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And once I did that, like just like I was saying earlier, finding the joy in running um has just helped me enjoy running so much.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like you have to take your identity out of running to find the joy in it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you place your identity in it, then if one thing goes wrong, like all of that joy is sucked out.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's a great segue into my next question, which is every runner is going to experience a race that doesn't go to plan, you know.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes progression is not linear and it ebbs and flows.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you reset mentally if it's been a tough performance or a tough race, and then use that to fuel you forward or to look ahead and to do better or to achieve a new goal when maybe you're coming off of something that might have felt disappointing?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I think just to trust in your training and your fitness.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I always have to remind myself that after a bad race, that like I've been having good workouts or the fitness is there and like to trust your coach.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um running isn't linear and not every race is perfect, um, unfortunately.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you just have to just trust in yourself.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that can be really hard, just but not letting like one bad race get to you is so important.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: So just um just to keep going.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's look at the other end of the spectrum there.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: So recovering from a race that maybe isn't your favorite to a dream race.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if you could race anywhere on a track on a cross-country course in the entire world, or maybe a, you know, a certain event, where would you like to run?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think it'd be so cool to run on the Nike headquarters track in Portland.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: I always see like cool videos and pictures on that track, and it's just beautiful, like it's tucked in the woods.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so to do a workout or a race there would just be really fun.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that seems to be a popular choice.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I've had quite a few athletes think that that would be a cool place to go train as well.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what would you say is your race strategy style?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, some people are go from the gun, some people are negative splitters, you know, it just depends.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe your race strength.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I would say my strength is probably my endurance.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: I tend to do like better on endurance-based workouts than like the faster intervals.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then strategy.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I usually like to like find someone to sit on and start smart.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like the first half of the race, and then like depending on how I feel, like, go for it the second half.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's usually like a big motivation or confidence based.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like last half passing people, it's super fun.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: You feel like you're racing.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that's what I've always really done, like through high school or tried to do at least.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't always mean negative split, um, but just trying to start smart and sit on someone.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I did find it hard, like my last race that I raced this season.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I led it from the beginning.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never done that.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that was definitely something different for me, and like it didn't let me use my normal strategy.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it was a lot more challenging.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that was kind of interesting for me.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, you tried something new and learned a new, I guess, mental strategy or tactic for racing a different way.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, did you feel like it was harder?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I did.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I was guessing.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was a lot harder.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, some people panic when they're not in the lead.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then then it it's a mental thing too, where they're like, well, I'm always leading, that's how I race, and now I'm not.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it just, yeah, it kind of depends on I guess your personality and your preference and how you race.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: But it'll be interesting.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you think's gonna happen at conference?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we'll see.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't want you to give away all your secrets.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's true.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, gotta keep those in the bag for a bit.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so before a big race, what would you probably eat?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's your pre-race meal?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: I typically have like pasta with chicken.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we usually eat together as a team or like coach provides a meal, and that's usually one of our options is pasta with something, some kind of pasta.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: If not, I usually eat like chicken and rice on a regular basis, so that's a good just go-to that I like always eat.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so what about after a big race and you're celebrating?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's like your post-race treat.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I always love to go get coffee and a treat.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, it depends on the time of the day.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I I try to limit my coffee intake for my bank account.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I I love coffee from coffee shops and I don't love it as much from the current.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: That adds up.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I love to just go like celebrate with coffee and like a cookie.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if it's at night, I am always down to get ice cream.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so what's your flavor of choice?
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: Anything with chocolate.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do you like like candies and cookies in it, or do you just like it plain?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love like all the toppings.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, all right.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so what's your shoe choice?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: What do you like to train in currently?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, right now I've been running in the Nike Vimeros.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also really like the New Balance 1080s.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll like alternate between those two.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: About how often do you have to get new shoes?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always curious.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually every season.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes I drag it out, but that's not always the smartest.
• 16:12
  unknown: Yeah.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if you're rotating two shoes, you could probably maybe get a little bit of a longer lifespan on your shoes, yeah.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what do you like to do when you're not studying or you're not training, which I know takes up a lot of your time.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um like I was saying earlier, I love going to a coffee shop with friends.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's probably like whenever I have nothing to do, that's the go-to.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, other than that, I love to go hiking, just being out in nature um is one of my favorite things to do.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you've got some beautiful country around you.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that's always great.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, my last question that I always love to wrap up the podcast episode with with my guests is if you could run anywhere in the world and you could pick someone to go with you, and this person can be from the past, they can be living or not, they can be from present day.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then you could take them on a run, and they don't have to be a runner.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is just, you know, like dream scenario.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Who would you pick to run with and where would you pick to go?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is a hard one.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think I would pick Noah Khan, he's one of my favorite um music artists, and I just think it'd be so cool to like go on a run with him and learn more about him and then location.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's so hard to pick one spot because I'm a person that just wants to travel everywhere.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So honestly, anywhere that has like beautiful mountains, um, very like no-con vibes.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um literally could be anywhere in the world, like maybe out west in the mountains, national parks, um, just any pretty place.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, yeah, maybe he'd write a song about it too.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: So there you go.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: That'd be awesome.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: That would be cool.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this weekend is conference for you, correct?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, I'm wishing you the best.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure this is not the end for you.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Big things to come.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we got nationals on the horizon, and that looks to be an exciting event for your whole team as well.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, so we'll be keeping an eye on everything and congratulations on a great season thus far.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: And thanks for taking time out of your day and chatting with me.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for tuning in to the Red Banner Race Report.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to feature more cross-country and track and field athletes from the NAIA.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned because it just might be you.
• 18:36
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• 18:40
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• 18:48
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• 18:51
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