Ep. 149 - The Comeback Is Personal: The Story of D1 Runner Blake Reynolds

Today on the podcast is Blake Reynolds!

Blake just recently transferred to run at Grand Canyon University (GCU) in Arizona, after a successful freshman collegiate season at The University of New Mexico. Blake is an alum of Central Kitsap High School in Washington, a rival to my current high school, Seattle Prep.

Blake holds PRs of: 1:55 (800m), 4:11 (1600m), 9:14 (3200m), 15:24 (5K XC).

Blake and I chatted today about his early development in the sport of running, coming from a soccer background and being forced by his coaches and parents to specialize in the sport of running. In high school, Blake found early success, finishing 15th at the Washington State XC meet in the 3A classification, where he was projected to finish 45th going in.

Blake followed this up with an incredibly successful track season, where he ran 9:14 for 3200m and 4:11 for 1600m, good enough to finish 5th at the State meet and become the 3rd-fastest sophomore 1600m runner in the nation at that time.

Unfortunately, however, Blake’s career took and unfortunate and career-altering turn. During the summer going into his junior year, Blake broke his ankle doing non-running-related activities. While he had a nice recovery, running 15:24 at Nike Portland XC in the fall, this comeback was short-lived. At the League Championships in XC his junior year, Blake re-injured that ankle, leaving him unable to walk, and sidelining him for the District Championships meet. Blake was healthy enough to run at the State Championships, where he had his breakout performance the year prior. That year, while he was projected to finish in the top three, Blake, in one of the lowest of his career, finished 24th in that race in a time of 16:36.6.

While I would love to say there was a comeback, Blake was unable to recover his high school career. He had three more unsatisfactory seasons to close off his high school career, and was unable to break 4:20 for 1600m his senior year. Blake said he was never able to make peace with the disappointing end to his four years.

Blake and I talk about what it was like being at rock bottom and in hindsight, what he would have done differently physically and mentally, invaluable advice that could help you in your career and rise to the top.

We also discuss his freshman year at UNM, getting to run with some of the greatest collegiate athletes in our sport, like Habtom Samuel, and some exclusive physical and mental training techniques that Blake has utilized to increase his performance and build an optimistic outlook for his future.

Overall, through Blake’s experiences and his failures, Blake has adopted a “one step at a time” philosophy, learning the importance of focusing on the present moment, especially when navigating injuries or setbacks. From this, Blake has also learned why mental training is critical for great athletes looking to become elite.

Blake understand that he is still developing and leans into the long game, something we can all adapt and apply to our own careers.

I hope you enjoy this episode of The Sunday Shakeout!

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