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Caleb Greene, Milligan University · The Red Banner Race Report

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast, where we dive into the mindset, miles, and moments that make up NAI cross-country and track and field.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Our guest today is Caleb Green, a graduate student from Milligan, who was the NAI Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the weekending on October 11th.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Caleb took part in the Royals cross-country challenge and placed 6th in the event with 247 runners across all divisions.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: His time was 24-33, which is a personal best.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: He's dropped close to two minutes in his collegiate career.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: His time also helped Milligan take home the team title in this event.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Caleb's finish at that time was the fastest in the Appalachian Athletic Conference this fall by over seven seconds.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: He has been named the AAC's runner of the week twice now this fall, and is an integral part of the team that is rapidly rising in the NAIA rankings.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: We will hear about Caleb's experience through his competition at two different universities, his goals and training, what health factors significantly contributed to his improvement, and what's next for him after his career comes to an end.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Caleb.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a pretty awesome season for you thus far this fall.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna chat about that and uh get into the the details of all the things that have been happening for you.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: But first, we're gonna take a little trip back in time.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Young Caleb, you are just getting started in cross country, maybe track and field, depending on how things were for you when you were a kid.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: So tell us your your story.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: How did you get involved in the sport?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: How old were you?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: What were the things that kind of brought you to discovering your love for running?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually started in middle school.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I started because whenever my brother was entering high school the same year, he got recruited to their cross-country track team.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't really know why, but I just started doing it as well through the middle school.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So like we were both kind of doing it at the same time and like learning how to run at the same time and stuff.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I really just followed in his footsteps, and over time I started like taking it more seriously.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, like once I started at Tensity Western, I definitely started taking it more seriously and then realized it was something I really enjoyed, something I kind of wanted to uh continue doing.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: So who's faster now?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I the off his PRs, I believe.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know in families that tends to be like a bragging rite or kind of a point of contention.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm always curious.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, as you mentioned, you did start out at at Tennessee Wesleyan.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Were you recruited to attend there out of high school for their team?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So my brother was also recruited there, and we're exactly four years apart.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we never got to run together in high school, but he took a fifth year in college at Wesleyan, and I was starting my freshman year, so we did get to run one year of collegiate running together.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's cool.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did you decide to transfer and attend Milligan?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: What made you make that decision for the rest of your collegiate career?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I was my senior year, I was graduating in December, and I was planning on going somewhere for that spring for track because Tennessee Westland didn't really offer graduate um athletic scholarships.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I believe they do now, which that's a really good change, but at the time they didn't.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I was already looking at um going elsewhere, and then in that summer, uh my coach left.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Coach Mike goes at Tennessee Westland, and I absolutely love him.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: These two, like he's an incredible coach.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: But after he left, there's like a lot of roster turnover, and I wasn't sure like they didn't have a coach in place, so I wasn't sure if like I thought it would be longer than it was for them to get a coach.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thankfully it wasn't.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I ended up redshirting the fall of my senior year, which is how I have eligibility now.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I set out that fall and then did a graduate transfer to Milligan.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Milligan's closer to where I'm from.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously that's they have a very high pedigree, great program, great winning culture.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I really wanted to be a part of that my final year and like kind of see what I could do.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if you don't mind me speaking on this, I'm curious to because I know there's been quite a few transfers within the NAIA, and that's just kind of the name of the game sometimes.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's needs that change, or your your degree isn't offered at a certain place and you have to finish it out.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what would you say are the biggest differences that you've noticed?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um that it doesn't have to be good or bad, just you know, speaking about just the reality of going two different places and then things that you've loved about both of your schools.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was a uh it was a pretty big change.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of feel like I like went D1 when I went to Milligan.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um because at Westland, like a good year.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: We had like eight or nine on cross country, and here we have like 40.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it has been very, very different.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: But thankfully I had another teammate who did the same thing, and he also came to Milligan, and he was there the semester before me.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: So he was a huge help and kind of helping not get acclimated and stuff.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: So when you look back, um you know, going through that transition from school to school, uh, what what do you think is a a pro or a positive that you've experienced in both places?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: So for Wesling, like I said, like the small team.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um again, like we had like 10 people.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like really, really close with that coach.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I'm like, you know, I love Coach Lane, but it's a little bit harder to get closer with somebody when there was like 40 other athletes.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a much larger team.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that was kind of new to me because I've always been on a small team, like even in high school and my whole career, I was on a small team.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a big pro for wrestling.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the biggest pro for Milligan is that we do have all those people, and we have a lot of really good people.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a lot of very, very good people that I get to run with every day, and we push each other, and it's just great for all of us.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, agreed.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Iron sharpens iron, as the verse says.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, looking at your career progression, um, you ran a 26-20 at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships in 2023, then a 2554 in 2024.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't find a time for 2025, but that could just be me not being able to.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um but you just ran 2433.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: So if we look back, you know, that's a pretty significant time drop.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: Two minutes-ish.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a little, yeah, about that.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, obviously you mentioned moving programs and and different approaches and how everything is handled.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: But if you could reflect upon what the biggest physical or mental breakthrough has been for you that's kind of taken your running to this national caliber level where you're getting recognized.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, it's a little bit different.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I've actually um I've had a uh condition my whole life called celiac disease, but I didn't get diagnosed until my junior year of college, like January of my junior year.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the only way to like really help and like mitigate that is to completely cut out gluten in your diet.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so obviously before that, I was still eating it, and there is a ton of like health complications and just like weird side effects that kind of come with it.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: So after I got diagnosed with that, completely cut gluten out.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: After time, like my gut and my entire body healed, and I like I feel so much better every day, just in normal life and running has gotten tremendously better, like all around.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that amazing what your gut affects?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think I've read in multiple places that it's kind of referred to in the scientific and medical world as your second brain, because it controls so much of your immune system and uh just all these things.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: So um we'll we'll take a little rabbit hole trail here.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Fun fun fact, I am gluten-free.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: I I um when I had my last daughter, she's now a freshman in high school, but after I had her, um I began to have tons of weird symptoms that they couldn't figure out.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it ended up being that um I had a a condition called Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is where um your immune system attacks your thyroid tissue and destroys it.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: So your thyroid itself is functioning, but your immune system is like, kill, kill.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so obviously the thyroid is very important to many metabolic functions in your body.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I had a really awesome doctor who understood the immune system and and just had an interest in that.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: And he recommended that I get tested because he said celiacs are often Hashimoto's patients who have undiagnosed gluten allergy.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: So sure enough, I and I I remember asking him, what's gluten?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because I didn't even know.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'd never, I mean, this was probably, I don't know, 12, 13 years ago.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I had no idea what that meant or what it was.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when he told me, I'm like, uh, how do you give that up?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's in everything.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I started doing a little research and kind of diving into that world.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, I am I have been gluten-free since then, probably 2013 or 14.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I do not have to take thyroid medication, and my thyroid is completely fine because I got rid of wheat and gluten.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I I can attest myself to the power of diet.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And um I'm curious to know if you don't mind sharing, you know, with what you're comfortable with.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: What were some of the symptoms that were really the most prevalent for you?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, with celiac, it's like it's crazy stuff.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like an autoimmune disease.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's um people with celiac can have increased levels of anxiety.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's like it's everything.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I used to like, I used to have days where I wake up and I just like feel really, really sick for like a day and just no idea why.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, I've had that my whole life, so I didn't really know that that wasn't normal until they told me I had celiac and then I cut it out.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And now, like, you know, I wake up, I feel great most days, and I'm like, how did I live like this for 20 years?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then I I get to like a more of a normal life, and it's in it's an insane transition.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm very thankful to God that I got diagnosed with that, and I'm able to just live normally now.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, that is the very same question I asked myself.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: What was I doing to myself that I didn't know all that time?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so you know, obviously being gluten-free presents its challenges when you're traveling with a team.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you work around that when you go out to eat or you need to, you know, have food before a race?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, do you kind of bring your own things or do you work around it as best you can?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I bring my own snacks and stuff.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um usually like I pretty much cook all of my food.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there are like gluten-free options like in Johnson City, but um I don't know.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just prefer to cook my own food, so I've kind of like went that pathway.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um with the team stuff, like they do a very, very excellent job of like helping me get food.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's like a problem, like um there might be like cross contamination, like that's a big one.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Cause celiac is so sensitive.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like if like if I have a plate and somebody like touches a piece of bread to it and then takes it off and then like puts my food on it, like I can't eat that because it like has a tiny, tiny bit of gluten.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So they will usually just like door dash me in a Chipotle bowl or just kind of like whatever I want that's like within the area.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's a huge hutail.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm sure it it can be tricky.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that the awareness of it is much better than it was, you know, 10 20 years ago.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I I hate to say prejudiced, but there is a little bit of an attitude sometimes when I say I need a gluten-free button, or I need to make sure that this isn't cooked in a fryer, or you know, they're like, well, because they think, oh, you know, you're just one of those people that just doesn't want to eat gluten because your health nut No, I can't.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I make sure to say I am allergic to it and I cannot eat it.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Not you know, this is not a preference, this is not a, you know, fad diet.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, um, and I think people are are better about recognizing that, but they are way, way better.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I am not as sensitive as you, like having a plate or something like that in my family.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I can cook with other things in my kitchen, and I don't have to worry about that for them.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: If I get exposed to it, it doesn't seem to bother me, but um, I just can't eat it.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, but yeah, it can be be very serious.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: So let me ask you, what's your favorite gluten-free treat brand thing snack?
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I really, really like these uh made good bars.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: They have like a cinnamon bun one.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: I get them at like Sam's Club.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I have those too.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, those are probably my favorite.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I think mine are blueberry.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh those are good too.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I like those.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so my favorite restaurant is Culver's.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't do you have those in Tennessee?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: We do not.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're not my part of Tennessee.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, so it's more a Midwest thing.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: I live in Michigan, so it's yeah, yeah.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, I think is where they originated.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: But um, they do gluten-free buns and they'll cook your fries in a different fryer.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of handy.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's very nice.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm really glad that you were able to get healthy.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's a really big deal.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: No wonder you're running so fast.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: But back to the main conversation of running.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does a week of training for you?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that varies with like a an upcoming race or a taper and so on, but if you could kind of sum it up in your main workout segments, what does it look like for you in a week?
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm usually hanging around like 65 miles a week.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have like a mixed workouts, easy runs, and then we have obviously a long run every week.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um the biggest thing that we do that's different for me, like from Westland, is we do a double T session once a week.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we have like double tempo.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's definitely been like a huge help.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um because I mean it's I would say it's like super, super hard, but it's definitely like kind of harder than I'm used to.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's I've definitely like felt to like MRS's and stuff.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I have been to Tennessee several times.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, family vacations.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh actually my national meet for track was in Johnson City.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they they had a track inside of this like old, I don't know, basketball arena, maybe?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, uh ETSU.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, and it was not a standard length.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it was like I don't even know, 200 and some meters.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: It was very strange because I ran the four by eight and the exchange zones were all in different places, which is weird, but anyway.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I know it's very hilly.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously you have you know the smoky mountains.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: So do you think that the terrain where you're at is a benefit or an advantage as you're training because you're getting some elevation and some large hill work into your workouts?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I definitely think it is.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a lot of rolling hills around here.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you kind of get used to like constantly having to go uphill and then downhill, then obviously back again.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I mean that builds a lot of strength, especially for cross-country.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so like we're not like we're a little bit more used whenever we get into a course that has some hills.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that we're kind of hard and comfortable with.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we also have a very, very wide range of weather in our area, so that is also a huge help.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, how are you feeling about nationals?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you think that's gonna be an advantage for you?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know if it'll be an advantage per se.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we'll be a little bit more used to like the cold and stuff, so that shouldn't be like too, too bad.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know that that course has some rolling heels, but I've also heard that it's a pretty brutal course.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've never ran on it, but my brother competed at that national meet, and I was there, so I have like seen it, so I'm like a little familiar with it.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um we do have some guys that did compete on it, so they've been like a big help.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you've had some PRs, big PRs already, but do you have any other significant goals or something that you'd like to achieve that's kind of on your radar for what's left of the season to come?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean my main goal going in was to be an all-American.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that was that was pretty much it.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I historically I haven't really set like super specific time goals.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I really just want to go out there and just have my best race.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like if I if I leave there and feel like I give it my all, then I'm as happy as could be.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely I wanted to be an all-American, but now I'm looking more towards I want to break that 24-minute kind of window.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good goal.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know we always tell our high school students, my husband is a high school cross-country coach.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: We always say place matters more than time at championship meets.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's it's where you finish, it's not necessarily your your time, and also every course is different, so it's hard to measure a PR against another course if they're not you know compatible or equal.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you do or don't have track eligibility left?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: I have outdoor.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm unfortunately I'm done with indoor.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: I got one more outdoors.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: So are you planning on any specific event?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely gonna be focusing on the 5k.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I might throw in some 10k.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have a lot of experience with it, but it's something I'm definitely open to.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll kind of talk to Coach and see what he thinks about that.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, oof, that's a lot of laps.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: So anybody that does that, I have a deep, deep respect for because a 10K on a road is a totally different thing or a cross-country course than on a track.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And man, those people like you have to be so mentally tough to just lap after lap after and also not lose track because I feel like that could also be a factor.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is one of your favorite race or running memories that you have from all of your years of competition?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely want to go back to I feel like my entire like freshman year cross-country season was like like I was that was really, really nice.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because I ended up being our top guy at Westland.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was like, I was good in high school.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was like 1750, so I wasn't like grade or nothing, like I wasn't getting a ton of offers, but you know, I was like pretty decent, and then I was running like 2630 my freshman year at Wesland, which I mean that's fairly respectable.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, especially when you're jumping up a big distance from a 5k to an 8k.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a that's a hard jump for a lot of people.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you were running with your brother that year, right?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: He actually had uh some unexpected uh medical things that popped up, so he didn't really get to run a lot that cross-country year.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we ran two meets together.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Aw, well, I guess that's better than none.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what advice would you give to an incoming freshman?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're looking at the end of your career collegiately, and so knowing all the things that you know and your experiences, what would you say to somebody coming in for their first college season?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: I would definitely say the biggest thing that I've like, I definitely feel like people need to do is just stick with it and trust their coach.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's a ton of like people on the internet and stuff, like that's a big thing of like saying that they do this workout or they do that workout, and like you need to do this if you want to get fast.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't take all those, like some of that's good, but you can't take every single workout and try to implement in your plan and then kind of do what your coach says.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like you need to stick with your coach or talk to your coach and maybe kind of implement that, something like that, but definitely just stick with the coach, and I mean you're gonna have bad races and bad workouts, like that's really just part of it, and it's part of improving.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: You just kinda gotta accept it.
• 21:44
  unknown: Yeah.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Figure out like kind of what went wrong.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe you went out too fast, maybe you know, a lot of stuff could happen, and you just kinda gotta get over it, move on, look at the next one.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, learn from it.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: So you mentioned you're a graduate.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Student.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: So what is next for you after you graduate?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, um definitely moving into more of the career stuff.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm currently I've done two internships with the company and I'm currently working there part-time.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I might be able to transition to a full-time role after I graduate.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm still kind of open.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: So okay.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: So what is your career field?
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: What are you hoping to do?
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: I have a bachelor's in finance and industrial management, and then I'm getting my master's in operational analytics.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: So uh both of my internships were in uh manufacturing, and I've really enjoyed that.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Just kind of like seeing the process of like how stuff is made and like working more the financial side of that.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm definitely I'm very, very interested in that, and I think I'm gonna stay in that area.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so tell me about analytics.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like what kind of things would you be looking at?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh analytics is looking at like specific data and finding ways that like the area like the company can maybe cut cost or like really optimize something.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like if like if you're looking at a lot of numbers and something looks off, we can kind of point it out, explain why it's off, kind of what it could affect, what could be changed to make it more make more sense overall, or just kind of looking at cost and you know, just cutting out like dead weight and stuff.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: So if they hire you, you're gonna save them a bunch of money.
• 23:28
  unknown: Hopefully.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hey, you're a valuable commodity then, I'm sure.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so this is the question I love to wrap up each episode with because I think it's a great picture into somebody's interests and their personality.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: But that is if you could run with anyone, whether it be someone from the past in history, and they don't have to be a runner, they don't have to be alive.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is like a you know dream scenario.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or they could be from present day, and you could take them and you could go anywhere in the world and go for a run.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Who would you pick and where would you go?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I thought about this one for uh what like a good bit.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I really, really liked the C.S.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Lewis one.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was really good.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that would be very interesting.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um I am a huge, huge football fan, and I absolutely love the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I went with TJ Watt, who is currently one of their best players on the team, and I went with the Allegheny River around Pittsburgh, which is part of the course for the Pittsburgh Marathon, and it's really just a beautiful area and just a pretty nice place to run.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you're from Tennessee, but you're a Pittsburgh fan?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: How did that work out?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have some I have some family that's a from that area.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And Pittsburgh, like, that's a very like that's a fan base that runs really, really deep.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of passed on.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very, very historic franchise, and it is like passed on.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: So they kind of got me into it, and I've just kind of been a fan ever since.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So okay.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, duly noted.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: So aside from football, what are your other hobbies and interests?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: I really like being outside.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I love cooking, I love making barbecue specifically.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have a smoker, so I've taught myself how to use it, and so that's been a very interesting journey.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I really love fishing.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: So are you like getting a a boat and fish?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: Are you a fly fisher?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say is your preference?
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I have a little drawn boat, so I like taking it out.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, do you eat what you catch or no?
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if I'm like down in Florida on vacation.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you better be careful there.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: You might catch something you don't want to catch.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'd be afraid to fish in Florida, but that's just me.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm afraid of carnivorous animals.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: So speaking of which, have you seen a bear where you live?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: I was assuming, yeah, because that's what happened to me on my my vacation to Tennessee.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: I went for a run and a bear crossed the road.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: And being from Michigan, we have black bears, but they're much more common like in the northern part of the state.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: So downstate, you don't see them.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it it really scared me.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: I was a teenager.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so I went into the nearest house that was near our vacation rental, and I knocked on their door and I asked the man if he would drive me back to my my vacation rental.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when I got back, nobody believed me.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: They thought I made it up.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, I really did.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: There was.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's that's my bear story.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: But luckily, I uh never saw another one again.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: So good deal.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: So what's next for you on the race calendar?
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: What's coming up next?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have the app challenge this Friday.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: I I saw that that's a big one.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: So that's pretty exciting.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, who knows what could happen next, right?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Only uphill.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's the plan I should use.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh pill from here.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it's been awesome to chat with you.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: I love getting to know more athletes in the NAIA and hearing their story and and how they have kind of come to be where they are.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for sharing that.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I wish you the best for what comes next for you, both in your running and after graduation.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you very much for having me on.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for tuning in to the Red Banner Race Report.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to feature more cross-country and track and field athletes from the NAIA.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned because it just might be you.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: You can find the Red Banner Race Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: You can also ask your smart speaker to play the podcast.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you'd like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the show notes or reach out on Instagram.