The Blue Water Running Podcast

According to The National Institute of Health, running is one of the most popular leisure sports.  Unfortunately, according to statistics compiled by Yale Medicine, “At least 50 percent of regular runners get hurt each year—some estimates put the percentage even higher—sometimes from trauma, such as a fall, but more often from overuse.”  The NIH goes on to state that “50 to 75% of all running inju...

 Our guest is Abby VanderKooi, an incredibly accomplished runner, and a recovered survivor of an eating disorder.  According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “An estimated 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. 10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder—that’s one death...

August 12, 2024, is the official MHSAA start date for high school sports practices...so it’s time for the 2024 Blue Water Area Cross Country Preview!  You can read the full article on the website with a lot more explanation/details, more athlete names, and quotes from coaches and such, but for those of you who would rather listen, I’ll give a brief rundown of the local teams and some specific athl...

Imagine this: you're standing in the middle of Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon, looking out at the crowd as you get ready to fulfill one of your greatest goals and dreams: competing for a spot on Team USA at the Olympic Track and Field Trials.  Oh, and you’re also going to fling yourself almost two stories in the air using a thin pole.  Our guest on today’s episode has done all of those things...

This  episode #17x2 is a bit different from our regular format.  The eagerly anticipated Region 17 preview from Michigan XC Speed Ratings came out this week, and it has St. Clair and Yale once again at the forefront of the regional projections.  This local matchup never disappoints and features some of the Blue Water Area’s fastest runners each year.  Both programs have a long tradition of excelle...

On this episode, we will be chatting with Hannah Fisher, a 2022 Marysville High School graduate and a current member of the Golden Grizzlies' track and field squad at Oakland University.   Hannah was an accomplished runner at Marysville, earning All-State status numerous times.  As a junior, she finished 7th in the 800 meters at the Division II state meet, running 2:19 and crushing her person...

 In this episode, we have an extra-special guest on the podcast: the man, the myth, the legend, Matt Armelagos, who is the analytics genius behind Michigan Cross Country Speed Ratings.  According to his website, Matt looks at cross country and track from a numerical perspective, calculating rankings and standings. In essence, speed ratings are a figure to see how fast an athlete ran on that course...

In this episode, we will hear from Thomas Westphal, a now-graduated senior at New Baltimore Anchor Bay High School.  The long list of accolades Thomas Westphal has accrued during the latter half of his high school running career is quite significant: Division 1 Cross Country State Runner-Up, Runner-Up in the 1600, State Champ in the 3200 - run just recently on June 1 - multiple all-state finishes...

In this episode, we will talk with Sadie Dykstra, a sophomore at Yale High School.  Sadie burst onto the high school track and field scene last year, making a statement by earning Division 2 All-State status in the long jump and 100/300-meter hurdles as a freshman.  She returned her sophomore year undefeated the entire regular season in all four events, winning four BWAC and regional titles.  Rank...

In this episode, we will talk with our first freshman guest, Kai Fisher of Memphis High School.  Kai has personal bests of 10.96 seconds in the 100, 22.91 in the 200, and 53.05 in the 400, and high jumping 6 feet as an eighth grader. Kai won the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the Algonac Friday Night Lights Invitational on May 10 and was the Greater Thumb League East Conference Champion in the 200 an...

In this episode, we will talk with senior Grace Clemens of North Branch High School. Grace is an incredibly accomplished sprinter.  This spring, she was named the Blue Water Area Conference MVP, winning the 100, 200, 400, and the 4x100, making her a perfect four-for-four.  She recently won the 100, 200, and 400, and was runner-up in the long jump at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, taking MVP hon...

This episode features senior Morgan Newton of Croswell-Lexington High School. On May 18, Morgan qualified at regionals for the Division 2 state finals in the 800 meters, taking third in 2:22.74.  Morgan has been incredibly consistent in the 800-meter run and has won the Blue Water Area Conference title in this event every year since she was a sophomore.  She is an integral part of her team’s 4x800...

Episode #9  is a 2-for-1 special.  We will be talking with two guests: teammates Luke VanderHeuvel and Grant Gonser of Port Huron Northern High School.  Both runners have set big personal bests in the 800-meter run, breaking the 2-minute mark this spring: Luke’s PR is 1:58.74 and Grant’s is 1:59.01 (run at the MAC White Championship on May 10, where they placed fourth and fifth, respectively).   T...

This episode's guest is Dylan Distelrath of St. Clair High School.  Dylan recently won the 3200-meter run at the Anchor Bay Invitational on May 3 in his personal best of 9:44, which is 30 seconds faster than his best last year.  He dropped a 4:36 in the 1600 meters at the Elite Barnyard Invitational on April 26, finishing 14th in a highly competitive field with an 11-second personal best, the...

In this episode, we will hear from Claire Sniesak, a junior at Armada High School.  Claire is a successful three-sport athlete, competing on the varsity volleyball, basketball, and track and field teams since her freshman year.   Claire was a ninth-grader when she earned all-state status as part of the Armada 4x400 relay, who took seventh at the Division 2 state meet in 2022 in 4:09.38.  Sports ar...

In this episode, we will talk with Matthew Bacholzky, a sophomore at Almont High School.   Matthew had a perfect four-event winning streak at the BWAC conference opener against Richmond and Cros Lex on April 9, taking first in the 200, 400 meters, the long jump, and the 4x200 relay.  He sits atop the Blue Water Area Top-10 Performance List in the long jump along with several other events. Matthew...

In this episode, we will be talking with Ethan Dinanath, a senior at North Branch High School.  Ethan has been sitting at the top of the Blue Water Area Top-10 Performance List for a few weeks now in the 100, 200, 400, and 4x400-meter relay.  He won all four of his events at the first BWAC league opener against Algonac and Imlay City (what I call four-for-four) and had several meets where he swept...

In this episode, we will hear from Tyler Lenn, a senior at Marine City Cardinal Mooney High School.  Tyler is an accomplished distance runner with a broad range, winning both the Division 4 1600-meter title in 4:14 last June and the D4 cross country state finals last November at MIS.  He has personal bests so far of 1:57 in the 800 and 9:17 in the 3200, and was regional champion in all three event...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand at the very top of the award podium at the MHSAA track and field finals and be crowned a state champion?   Our guest knows exactly what that feels like and is looking forward to another chance to repeat it this season. Welcome to episode #3 of The Blue Water Running Podcast, where we feature and celebrate the accomplishments of high school and...

This episode features Keirra Taube, a junior at Yale High School and a member of the track and field team.  At the Saginaw Valley State University Indoor Invitational on March 20, Keirra won the meet competition in the high jump with her personal best, jumping 5 feet, 6 inches.  With that win, Keirra also broke a 21-year-old school record, which was set back in 2003 at 5 feet 3 and a half inches. ...

Hello and welcome to the very first Blue Water Running Podcast !  Blue Water Running was designed to feature and celebrate the accomplishments of high school and collegiate cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area of Michigan.  In this episode, we will be chatting with Camden Khon, a 2023 Armada graduate and a current freshman at Spring Arbor University.  Camden runs cro...