Episode 15 – Esther Erb Atkins
May 12, 2020
Show notes
Today’s guest is about as D3 as it gets. Esther Erb Atkins was better known as a cello player in high school, running only her senior year. She chose case western for their strong academic programs, going on to earn degrees in music and cognitive science. But one day her freshman year, the cross country coach spotted her on the treadmill at the gym, and encouraged her to join the cross country team. The rest is as they say, history. Esther would go on to lead Case Western to two top ten finishes at the national cross country meet, and her senior year became the individual champion over 10,000m, winning by .4 seconds. Esther has gone on to a successful professional career, highlight by a national championship in the marathon in 2014, which earned her the right to represent the United States at the 2015 world championships. Esther recounts more from the 10k: And I remembered something else going through my head in that final straight. Toni Wiszowati had run under 34:00 (top seed by over a minute) to qualify that year after being injured in the fall and being the first person to miss qualifying for indoor nationals in the 5k. I felt so bad for her when she missed out on qualifying that I found her email on her school directory and reached out. So the night before the 10k, at the banquet I saw her and gave her a hug and she told me that she was there to receive her regional athlete award, but she was injured. And then she told me that she wanted me to win for her. I took her words very seriously, and in that last 100m, I remembered what she had said, and was just repeating her name in my head because I knew that if I made it that far and didn’t try, I’d be sad that I had let her down again after a really hard year. I think that’s where god gear truly came from – when you do something for someone else, it pulls out so much more than you could possibly do for yourself alone. Thanks for joining us again, as always feel free to leave a rating or review of the podcast wherever you’re listening, and if you really want to be a hero, introduce the show to a friend. We’ll be back with more episodes every other Tuesday – until then, here’s to the glory days. Esther on social media: @erbyatkins D3 Glory Days Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/d3glorydays D3 Glory Days Twitter D3 Glory Days Instagram
Listen on Apple and Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!
Hey everybody welcome back to D3 Glory Days, hope you’re staying safe and getting some runs in. Before we jump into the episode description – a couple exciting announcements for you. First off, D3 Glory Days has started a Strava running club, be sure to join us there, we’ll put a link in the show notes. Over 300 past/present/and future D3 runners joined this week, and we’re excited to continue growing the community. Along those lines, we’re also excited to announce the inaugural D3 Glory Days virtual 5k Road race on Thursday, May 7th. Head over to the strava group, and you’ll see the event listed there. Please sign up, plan out a road loop, and relive your glory days with us. We’ll bring you an exclusive interview with the top finishers after. Ok, moving on. For episode 14 of the podcast we’re excited to welcome 8 time all American, DePauw University alum, and current Trinity University assistant coach Lauren Reich Loeffler. The Arizona native topped out at 15 miles per week in high school before moving across the country to Greencastle Indiana, and joining a cross country squad shouldering the weight of a strong tradition of excellence. Lauren is a testament to the level of improvement that can happen in a division 3 program, and the epitome of a team player. Lauren was a senior my freshman year at DePauw, and watching her fourth place finish at the national cross country meet allowed me to dream of being there myself. It was fun to have Lauren on and get a chance to tell her how much her successful career inspired us as collegiate athletes. Enjoy the episode, as always please take a moment afterward to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss anything, and leave us a rating or review, it helps us grow the podcast. Until next time – Here’s to the glory days. Strava Group: https://www.strava.com/clubs/d3glorydays
Episode 13 – Matt Wilkinson
Apr 14, 2020
Show notes
Heading into the indoor national championships that never were, Matt Wilkinson was ranked first in both the 3k and the 5k. It was the next logical step for the cross-country runner-up. Wilkinson was a credentialed high school athlete out of Minnesota with a division one or nothing mentality. After becoming familiar with the accomplishments of fellow Minnetonka High School alum, Will Leer, he opened his eyes to Division three institutions. Feeling a strong connection with Coach Dave Ricks, he committed to Carleton. He struggled in his freshman campaign, experiencing a period of stagnation for the first time in his young career. It didn’t take long to right the ship. He captured his first All-America award the following year in cross country, finished 6th indoors in the 5k, and 4th place outdoors in his breakthrough event – the steeplechase. We covered Matt’s progression in his training and his racing, his life outside of athletics (he’s sings in an ‘Australian punk’ band), and how he’s handling this unprecedented time in athletics. Thanks for tuning in! Please like, leave a review and subscribe for more. It really helps us grow the podcast. As always, here’s to the glory days!
Episode 12 – Sydney Packard
Apr 06, 2020
Show notesApple – Spotify
As athletes from around the country put the finishing touches on their Indoor National Championship preparations, the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up in earnest. Just before championships were scheduled to begin, the NCAA took the unprecedented step of canceling all spring athletics. Just the like, the season was over. No championships were held. No one got the chance to show themselves on the sport’s biggest stage. In our next series of episodes, we’ll talk to the athletes who ended their seasons on top of the leaderboard. When Coach Chabot of WPI saw Sydney Packard run at the state meet of her senior year of HS, he thought he was looking at a well of untapped potential. He was right. Sydney began to improve immediately and steadily. From missing the 800m final indoors her freshman year, she would have stepped on the line in Winston-Salem NC with a 206 PB, this year’s number one seed. We talked with Sydney about her progression as a runner, what being a well rounded student-athlete means to the chemical engineering major, what it was like to have the season cancelled, and her plans for the future. If you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a review. We really appreciate and helps the podcast grow! As always, here’s to the glory days. You can follow Sydney on Twitter and Instagram – @sydney_packard
Episode 11 – Missy (Buttry) and Andrew Rock
Feb 26, 2020
Show notes
This week on D3 Glory Days, we had a fantastic conversation with Missy and Andrew Rock. Two of the greatest D3 athletes of all time. Between them, they collected 35 All-America honors, 23 Individual Titles, 9 Team Titles, and 1 Gold Medal. Both have set D3 All Time Records in the 5k and 400m. We talked with them about their decision to go D3, stay in D3, what they’re professional careers were like, and everything in between. They both are still in D3 as they coach at Bethel University in St. Paul Minnesota. You can follow their team @bethelxctf. Thanks again for listening to the show. As always, tell your friends, teammates and coaches about D3 Glory Days. And if you’re feeling kind, leave a review! Here’s to the Glory Days.
Episode 10 – Bobby Van Allen
Feb 11, 2020
Show notes
This week, Noah and Stu sat down with Johns Hopkins Coach, Bobby Van Allen. Bobby is the first D1 Graduate to be on the pod but winning 6 national titles makes up for it. Bobby was initially hired as a part-time coach and later was named Full-Time in 2002. He covers his background in Maryland, the decision to leave Physical Therapy school, and relives some of Johns Hopkins National Titles. He gives great insight into how he built Johns Hopkins up, talked about training, and even tried to pitch Noah and Stu to join Hopkins. All this and more on Episode 10 of D3 Glory Days. Follow Johns Hopkins XCTF programs @HopkinsTFXC on Twitter and Instagram
Episode 9 – Jordan Carpenter
Jan 07, 2020
Show notes
Hello everyone, happy new year and welcome back D3 glory days. We started this podcast last year, and it’s been a lot of fun for us to share some of the stories of Division three running, and to relive our own glory days. We’re excited for what this year is going to bring to our young podcast, and we really appreciate all of you who have been listening all along. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and review our podcast wherever you found it. Today on episode 9 of D3 glory days, were happy to welcome former d3 all american, national champion coach, and current elite distance runner Jordan Carpenter. Jordan was an unheralded high school athlete who improved every year on a diet of high mileage and 4.0 GPAs at UW Oshkosh, ultimately finishing as high as 13th at xc nationals, and national runner-up in the steeplechase. While continuing his running career after graduation, which has included a 64 minute half marathon, Jordan also launched his coaching career. Just three years into his job as the head cross country coach at Pomona College, he led them to their first ever national championship, Jordan is currently training in Boulder Colorado eyeing an olympic trials qualifier in the marathon before the collegiate track season ramps up. Enjoy the conversation, and heres to the glory days. Jordan on Twitter: @_jcarpenter_ His team on Twitter: @sagehenrunning
Episode 8 – Parley Hannan
Dec 10, 2019
Show notes
At first glance, Parley Hannan from Ithaca College came out of nowhere to win a national championship in just her second year of cross country. That much is true. But spend a little time with self proclaimed ‘open book’ Parley Hannan, and you’ll see that the 2019 champion’s story runs much deeper. Three universities, a leave of absence, learning to cope with anxiety, depression, and disordered eating, to becoming the best division three runner in the nation. From a dark place to the national limelight we’re glad to welcome Parley to Episode 8 of D3 Glory days. We cover a lot of ground in this one. Parley’s story shows the path isn’t always linear, and we think a lot of runners will find pieces of her story relatable. As she stormed into the lead before 3k, and capped a nearly perfect season with a national championship – Parley announced herself as a contender in every race she enters. Will she be back to defend next year? That answer and more coming right at you. Thanks again for joining us. We really enjoy doing this podcast, and seeing the support for it continuing to grow has been really cool. Please take a moment to subscribe, and if you’re feeling generous, leave us a short rating or review. We’ll be back before you know it. Until then, here’s to the glory days. Parley on Instagram: peafunkk
Episode 7 – Patrick Watson
Dec 02, 2019
Show notes
4:55 in the 1600, and 10:09 for 3200, those were the high school PRs of Stevenson University’s Patrick Watson, the 2019 Division 3 Cross Country Champion. From not qualifying for the meet his freshman, to finishing 15th there his Junior year – Patrick had been visualizing this win for the last 12 months. He began to pull away effortlessly at 5k, and never looked back. In our first interview with a current D3 athlete, Patrick walks us through how he went from an unheralded high school athlete, to division three national champion. He gave us insight into how his race played out, and filled us in on where he’s going from here. We enjoyed this one, and hope you will too. Please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast to catch future episodes, and leave us a quick review – that’s the biggest thing you can do to help grow our audience. We’ll be back soon with a full interview with the women’s champion, Parley Hannan, until then – Here’s to the glory days! Patrick on Instagram: @patrick_watson1
Episode 6 – Bijan Mazaheri and Ryan Root
Nov 19, 2019
Show notes
The inspiration for today’s show comes from Charlie Marquardt, specifically a tweet he put out after this years Chicago marathon. In that tweet he compares how three runners fared in the 2012 NCAA XC championships in Terre Haute, with how they finished this year’s Chicago marathon. The runners who did both are myself, Ryan Root, and Bijan Mazaheri. Most striking was the pace comparison between the two. While my marathon pace was a few seconds slower per mile compared to that 8k in 2012, Ryan (2:17:00) and Bijan (2:15:26) ran as fast or faster per mile in the marathon than they did in 2012. You can find the tweet in the show notes. That compelled us to call them up, hear about the rest of their collegiate careers, but almost more importantly, hear how their Division Three experience created a love of running that continues to this day. Both these men are a case study of the progression a D3 athlete can make over the years, and it was really cool to get them on record together. Charlie’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/cmarqq/status/1183505005048946689 Ryan Root on Twitter: @RyanAndrewRoot Bijan has a website dedicated to D3 XC Predictions: https://bijanmazaheri.wordpress.com/d3-regional-cross-country-rankings/
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
