Runner of the Week: Matt Lawyer

This week's Runner of the Week is my friend Matt Lawyer.  He has been running for seven years now.  His dad runs every morning, and one day he invited Matt to go with him.  Since then, Matt has learned to greatly enjoy running.  He loves the feeling of blood rushing through his body- the feeling of being alive!

Bob Firman Invitational, 2012

Throughout the past seven years, Matt has been mostly consistent with his running.  There have been a couple months on and off when he gets too busy for it, but he always starts back up again later.  He has run about 40 races.  During his junior and senior years in high school, he was on a cross country team.  One day during practice, it was storming outside, so his coach told them to run around the school for 40 minutes.  Matt said that it was a fun experience because students don't usually get to run inside like that!

Murray, 2012

Last year, Matt ran the Bob Firman Invitational of 2012 5K in Idaho with his cross country team.  He won 1st place in Junior Varsity, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:22!  He says that the guy right behind him pushed him to run even harder.  To watch his interview after the race, click here.  

Bob Firman Invitational, 2012

This past April, Matt ran the Miles for Smiles 5K.  The runners pushed people with special needs in wheelchairs.  This was a great way to get them involved in the race, even though they couldn't actually run it.  Matt pushed a woman named Jill and I'm sure she greatly enjoyed it!

Matt and Jill in the Miles for Smiles 5K, 2013

Matt much rather prefers to run outdoors.  He even runs outside in the winter!  While he was running with his dad one day, they had to run through the sleet.  The only way to stay warm in a circumstance like that was to keep running hard.

To other runners out there, Matt would say, "Consistency is the number one thing that will effect your running."  The only way to keep up your endurance is to not quit running. Run even when it hurts!

Grass Relay, 2012