Hello and welcome to episode number 14 of The Blue Water Running Podcast! This podcast features and celebrates 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 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 and regional/league/county titles in cross country and track, invitational meet and school records, sub-15 minute 5K times, and more. This past fall, Thomas won the Footlocker Midwest Regional at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Nov. 25 in 14:59.2, earning a trip to the Footlocker Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 9 in San Diego, California, where he had the opportunity to toe the line with some of the best high school runners in the country. He has personal bests of 51.99 in the 400, 1:51 in the 800, 4:06 in the 1600, and 8:55 in the 3200, which he ran all alone at the Davison Twilight Invitational, lapping most of the field and setting the meet and facility record. Thomas is also committed to an NCAA D1 program at Michigan State University to continue running at the collegiate level.

These amazing achievements are in stark contrast to his debut as a runner. At his first cross country race as a freshman, Thomas finished in 22:03. He has an amazing story of how he overcame injuries and obstacles to chase dreams with determination, hard work, guts, and grit and become the most successful runner in Anchor Bay history and one of the best in the state.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this quote by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. At age 16, Ingebrigtsen became the youngest man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes. Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 meters and holds the world's best time in the two-mile. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 meters in 2022 and 2023. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. He is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500, a sub-7:30 3000, and a sub-12:50 5000 meters.

“If some people can do something, I believe I can do it better. That’s just my way of thinking and my way of staying motivated. But it’s like in every aspect of life, there’s a lot of roads to take to become a good runner or even good at anything. It’s a lot of practice and consistency. That’s the most important thing.”

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU!

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