“The summer before my senior year [at Hope College], I found out that I had a torn labrum in my right hip. It wasn’t going to be getting any better. It was going to be worse the more and more I ran on it. I had thought that my senior year was in the books. I had a great junior year and was coming off an All-American season. At that point I was like, Well, at least I was able to have that [All-American season] in my career. So I had a hip surgery that fall, but I never really threw my season out of the way. So I kept working and tried to rehab, and all of a sudden, the season comes up and I’m doing well. I would definitely say the hip surgery was the darkest spot in my season, but I was able to overcome it. … After finishing fourth at nationals [in the 800] my junior year, I had it in my mind that I’m going to win the national title next year, I want to be first. But then, when I found out about my hip surgery, it changed my perception on that, and that goal had to change. So my goal ended up being, OK, let’s see if I can run this season. Then it turned into, OK, let’s see if I can make it to nationals. OK, maybe let’s see if I can make the top eight [in the 800] again. My intentions and goals had to change a little bit. [Finishing fourth again] was a relief. It was definitely a relief, because I was like, Oh man, this has been a rough season, but I made it, and it was a great experience. It was a relieving feeling, but an accomplished feeling as well.”
Hooray Run 