34 Thursday, July 11, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
GALE FISCHER
Shopper News ContributorRunning differs from many sports
in that the goal is not always to win
the match.
Certainly, many participants feed
off of a competitive drive, but there
are many in our sport who are in it
just to run.
Running beside others and taking
in the energy on a race course is the
thrill that some desire. It’s not always
about age group awards or leader-
board placings. For others, simply
running is all that is necessary, and
participating in a race is not part of
their athletic makeup.
Tyler Lewis’ running story began
this way (with Lewis being a part of
the Harper Creek school district). The
competitive nature of the sport was
not a part of his DNA. Just being a
part of the sport was enough.
Tyler began running as a young boy
with a little encouragement, coaxing
and ultimately bribery from his mom.
“I joined my middle school cross
country team in seventh grade. I only
started because my mom offered me
$75 to run cross country,” Lewis said.
“The previous summer I kind of just
sat around watching TV and eating
junk food. Mom was ready for me to
change my sedentary tendencies.”
Tyler spent much of his time early
on near the back of the pack, but this
didn’t seem to bother him.
“I was the slowest member of my
team,” he said. “Several times I was
the last-place finisher for many races
in my first few years of cross country,
but this didn’t matter to me. I liked
the sport immediately because every-
one was supportive no matter how
slow I was or what place I finished.”
Tyler’s varsity cross country coach
Ryan Renner recalls his early obser-
vations of Tyler as a runner in middle
school.
“I remember watching Tyler’s first
race when he ran cross country for
the middle school team,” Renner said.
“He was always towards the back
of the pack, but I remember think-
ing that I never saw him walk and he
seemed to be giving a solid effort.”Just Another Runner’s Story: Tyler Lewis
Tyler also signed on for track in
middle school, but decided to try
baseball during the spring as a fresh-
man. He eventually returned to track
as a sophomore, but cross country
was always his true love.
“Cross country was my main
focus and track was a way to stay in
shape,” Lewis said.
Tyler would eventually turn the
corner from runner to competitor.
This competitive side remained inter-
nal and not against other runners.
“My very first 5K finishing time
was 30 minutes and 30 seconds my
freshman year,” Lewis said. “I was
able to chip away and had a personal
record (PR) of 25 minutes by the end
of my freshman year.
“Every year I seemed to get better
and my best race was my senior sea-
son with a time of 18 minutes and 58
seconds at the Portage Invitational.”
A sub 19-minute 5K was Tyler’s
dream, but improving his race times
wasn’t his only source of motivation.
“My sophomore year of high
school, I weighed 225 pounds,”
Lewis said. “I started taking run-
ning more seriously and eventually,
I dropped down to 175. I was trying
to lose weight and the extra miles
helped with this.”
Tyler’s two goals complimented
each other. Putting in the extra miles
and effort required seemed to melt
the pounds away, and the more
weight he shed, the better he per-
formed as a runner.
Coach Renner’s assessment of
Tyler’s transformation as a runner
paints a similar picture.
“When he came to the high school
team his freshman year it was more
of the same for his first two years.
He wasn’t built like a stereotypical
distance runner. He was on the husky
side. He ran, came to practices, gave
a solid effort, and was a good team-
mate,” Renner said.
“Something changed after his soph-
omore year. He had slimmed down
noticeably that summer and his times
started to come down. The summer
before his senior year, we talked
about setting some goals, and his big
goal was to break 19 minutes.
“He not only got under 19 minutes,
but also earned a varsity letter, fin-
ishing in our top five and scoring forus. He was a testament to what hard
work and dedication could do.”
Tyler began his cross country
career as the slowest runner on his
team. His goal was never to become
his team’s No. 1 runner. He simply
wanted to improve. His competition
became internal and not against other
runners. The individual component
of his sport helped to motivate him,
but the social and team part of his
sport was equally important.
“The one thing that I miss the most
from my time as a high school run-
ner is the summer practices with the
team, both boys and girls,” Lewis
said. “We would run and then just
hang out with my teammates after
each practice. The team bonding
was amazing. I also miss the support
from the cross country parents. Their
enthusiasm is incredible. They were
always so encouraging. There was
never any negativity. Everything was
always so positive.”
Tyler graduated from Harper CreekSee LEWIS on 35