By Hayley Lewis
Friday April 14, when the moon was high, junior communication and media major Zach Boch was at the starting line for his 10k at Heidelberg University at 9:10 p.m.
Boch has been a passionate runner for eight years and loves it more every year. Boch’s purpose for doing this run was to really push and challenge him at his collegiate level and get to the “top of the mountain”. The 10k group was something he really wanted to aim for and move up and train with his teammates. Boch’s biggest goal for this 10k was to get under 36 minutes and continue building himself as an athlete.
This was not Boch’s first night running event. Boch feels confident after running multiple night races in high school and a few in college. He does admit to still having the pre-race jitters that every runner gets.
According to Boch, the good thing about night races is that the air is much cooler making it great racing weather.
Boch entered the running world in seventh grade but later decided to leave it for karate. Later that same year he joined the track team. One of his teachers was the cross country coach who persisted in Boch going out for the team.
“My coach really got me to stick with running and created an atmosphere that made it really enjoyable to be part of,” said Boch.
The person who influenced Boch the most in his running career was his high school coach Jeff Koksal. Boch says Koksal was the best coach he has ever had. Koksal’s way of training and coaching skill, nutrition and other various ways to improve as a runner has had a major impact on Boch.
“He taught us how to be ready for life and what it means to be an individual in the world,” said Boch.
Koksal made Boch ready for life and for that he is forever grateful for him. Boch is thankful for his teammates from high school and college for keeping him motivated to keep running and being a huge support system for him during races.
Running every day in any weather and overcoming mental blocks during long runs makes the sport strenuous. What pushes Boch the most to succeed when it gets hard is his teammates. With his teammates’ support and advice he is able to push through and dig deep to the finish.
This season is already quite different than last year. With a new coach, more motivation and a supportive team this has so far been the best season Boch has had with his training.
Boch knows he can do better in races and is willing to push himself harder than ever to prove that. This is what makes the 10k so important to him. Boch is ready to prove himself as an athlete and has the rest of the season to do it.
At Friday’s 10k run Boch finished with a new PR of 36:01.
