Getting cut from a collegiate sport can end some athletic careers, but for junior Griffin Schroeder it has fueled his.
While Schroeder did not make the UW-Whitewater cross country team his sophomore year, he will be one of 25,000 individuals competing in next Monday’s Boston Marathon.
“The only thing I ever learned from running in college is the distance was way too short for me,” Schroeder said. “I knew I would be successful running longer races, such as the 15k, 20k, half marathon, triathlon and full marathon.”
Senior Jeff Metzger, who ran two years for the cross country team, joins Schroeder in Boston.
To qualify for the 114th edition of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathon, Griffin and Schroeder needed a time of three hours and 10 minutes.
Both reached that mark with some room to spare last year.
Metzger posted a 3:01:16 time in October at the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, while Schroeder qualified by running a 2:56:26 last May in the Green Bay Marathon.
Metzger said he has some goals he’d like to achieve at the Boston Marathon.
“I want to have fun, but I want to break the three hour barrier since I have not done that yet,” Metzger said. “However, I think if I run a smart first half, I’m capable of running a 2:55.
Nonetheless, he knows it will be a challenge.
“At the same time, Boston is a very tough course and a lot of people run very slow compared to their qualifying time,” Metzger said.
Schroeder knows running 26.2 miles is not an easy task, especially in Boston’s hilly terrain.
“When it comes to training for a marathon, I train all year round for it,” Schroeder said. “I don’t just focus on just one. I look down the road and see what other ones I would like to do like six months from now and see how to get ready for that one too or other races in between.”
Metzger, who ran 10 miles at least twice a week and sometimes 14 and 17 mile runs in preparation, said he is ready for Monday.
“I’m really happy how my training went, because I was smart and never got injured,” Metzger said. “That is why I think this Boston race will go better than the Milwaukee race because I did better long runs for my training and I’ve stayed healthy.”
Schroeder said he knows he will hit the runner’s wall at some point in the race, he just hopes it comes later in the race.
“Everyone hits it,” Schroeder said. “It’s not a matter of if you will hit the wall, it’s actually a matter of when. I have luckily managed to hit the wall around mile 20-22 and hopefully I will hit it around mile 22 if I feel good that day.”
