This episode features Algonac High School senior Kate Bennett. Kate’s outdoor track and field career just ended in the best way possible: on May 31 at the D3 state finals at Kent City High School, she dropped a massive personal best in the 800, running 2:22.91 to finish sixth and earn All-State honors, her first trip ever to the podium. Kate’s no stranger to the state meet: she is a three-time regional champ and state qualifier in the 800, but her times kept dropping all spring into uncharted territory. Her prior 800 best last year was a 2:34, and in the 1600 her sophomore year it was a 6:26. This year? She ran a 5:42 mile at the Muskrat Classic and claimed the Blue Water Meet of Champions title in the 800 in 2:26, her fastest before the state finals. She also had a successful fall cross-country campaign, taking last year’s PR of 21:40 to a 20:34 and qualifying for the state meet at MIS. Kate will head to SC4 this fall to continue her collegiate running career.

Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast: please share an episode to help spread the word about Blue Water Running’s mission, which is to feature and celebrate the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from our area. You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, along with athlete and meet reports and photos on the website at bluewaterrunning.org.

Coverage of Blue Water Running is sponsored in part by Elite Feet of Port Huron. If you need running shoes, spikes, or apparel, they have a friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you find the right fit and have spent years supporting local athletes in the Blue Water Area. They are located at 327 Huron Ave in downtown Port Huron.

Verlinde Insurance, located in Richmond, Michigan, is a new supporter of coverage on Blue Water Running. Training as an athlete teaches you resilience and preparation. Apply those lessons to your life with their insurance plans. Be ready for anything with them by your side. You can visit Verlindeinsurance.com or email Noah@Verlindeinsurance.com for more information.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

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https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

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Eli Bickel, a North Branch High School junior, joins me to discuss his accomplishments this year in the shot put and discus. Eli earned All-State in the discus by finishing as the runner-up at the D2 state finals on May 31 with a new personal best of 180'-9" and also finished tenth in the shot put in 52’-2.25”. He has had a season of massive improvements: last year, his bests were 47'-11" and 149’, so he’s throwing significantly farther than he did as a sophomore. His shot put best stands at 56’-2” after this season. Eli now holds North Branch school records in both the shot and disc, as well as the Blue Water Area Conference records.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” - Tim Notke
“Failure to train is training to fail.” - unknown

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast: please share an episode to help spread the word about Blue Water Running’s mission, which is to feature and celebrate the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from our area. You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, along with athlete and meet reports and photos on the website at bluewaterrunning.org.

Coverage of Blue Water Running is sponsored in part by Elite Feet of Port Huron. If you need running shoes, spikes, or apparel, they have a friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you find the right fit and have spent years supporting local athletes in the Blue Water Area. They are located at 327 Huron Ave in downtown Port Huron.

Verlinde Insurance, located in Richmond, Michigan, is a new supporter of coverage on Blue Water Running. Training as an athlete teaches you resilience and preparation. Apply those lessons to your life with their insurance plans. Be ready for anything with them by your side. You can visit Verlindeinsurance.com or email Noah@Verlindeinsurance.com for more information.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/
https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

• Instagram and X @bluewaterrun
• Facebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning

This episode features St. Clair High School junior Colin Boullard. At the Anchor Bay Invitational on May 2, Colin ran his best of 15.12 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, a PR by close to half a second and meeting the Division 2 state early qualifying mark of 15.3 seconds. Colin is currently the second-fastest high school boy in the event in the Blue Water Running coverage area behind another D1 EQ hurdler, Jonah Konarz of Anchor Bay. As of the recording of this podcast, he also ranked in the top ten in the state for the event. Colin is also a 300-meter hurdler with a PR of 41.38, which he ran this weekend at the Marysville Invitational, placing first. Colin will give us some insight into his introduction and progression into the hurdling events, how he deals with injuries and setbacks, and what keeps him moving forward to seek improvement each year.

I’ll leave you with a quote by Grant Holloway, the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles and the second-fastest man in history at the event with a personal best of 12.81 seconds, set at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 26, 2021. He is also a three-time outdoor world champion. In the 60-meter hurdles, Holloway is a three-time world indoor champion and the world indoor record holder with a time of 7.27 seconds set at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

“Run fast and do what you have to do. I try to not even stress... you just let me know where and when I need to run. The main thing is executing and being prepared and ready when it matters most."

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast: please share an episode to help spread the word about Blue Water Running’s mission, which is to feature and celebrate the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from our area. You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, along with athlete and meet reports and photos on the website at bluewaterrunning.org.

Coverage of Blue Water Running is sponsored in part by Elite Feet of Port Huron. If you need running shoes, spikes, or apparel, they have a friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you find the right fit and have spent years supporting local athletes in the Blue Water Area. They are located at 327 Huron Ave in downtown Port Huron.

Verlinde Insurance, located in Richmond, Michigan, is a new supporter of coverage on Blue Water Running. Training as an athlete teaches you resilience and preparation. Apply those lessons to your life with their insurance plans. Be ready for anything with them by your side. You can visit Verlindeinsurance.com or email Noah@Verlindeinsurance.com for more information.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/
https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

• Instagram and X @bluewaterrun
• Facebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning