Contrary to the experience of most runners, I did not fully commit to running until my junior year of high school. As a soccer player, I joined the track team merely to gain fitness in the offseason. A group of guys on the track team had a tradition of passing around a book to all the new members and I had a chance to read it right after I joined. This book, "Once A Runner" by John L. Parker Jr., inspired me make the biggest decision of my life thus far: To become the best runner I can be.
Two years and a lot of miles later, I found myself as a walk-on member of the University of Iowa's D1 Track and Field team. With humble personal bests I started out my time with the team at Iowa in August 2015. In less than seven months, I had improved all of my times: 4:23 for 1-mile, 9:19 for 2-mile, and 14:30 for 3-mile races by March of 2016. After a coaching change and a year of injuries, I took my destiny into my own hands.
In the summer of 2017, I began self-training to keep the promise I made to myself years before. I launched myself into researching the training styles, habits, and techniques of the best runners and coaches in the world. By learning their methods, I was able to develop my own, which has helped me improve my half marathon from 75 to 70 minutes in only 4 months and then down to 67 minutes 5 months later. My times have improved across all distances, and now I want to share my knowledge as a coach and to help others improve as I have.