Whether it’s for the love of running or the goal of a national championship, the ISU Running Club continues to pound the pavement.

During the cross country season, the men’s team capped off an impressive season by earning the No. 7 spot in the Cross Country National Championships final ranking, while the women’s team finished No. 12. The club is hoping to carry that success over to the track and field season, where it has dominated in past years.

The team is even stronger when it comes to the Half-Marathon National Championships, with the men finishing at No. 4 and the women at No.2.

One member who has dominated the half-marathon field is graduate student Chris Robertson. Robertson is a National Intercollegiate Running Club Association All-American in both cross country and the half-marathon. Robertson also holds the ISU Running Club record in the 3k, with a time of 8:33.40, which he set this past weekend at the UNI Jack Jennet Invitational.

“It’s an overall great experience and honor to be an All-American,” Robertson said. “To run against guys that are competitive, but to also have fun at the same time is great.”

Robertson, who is in his fifth year as a member of the club, was vice president for a year before rising to president for the past two years. Robertson recently passed over the reigns to senior Robert Scanlon.

“I jumped right into the club my freshman year, even before classes started. With my early experience, I was then voted vice president for two years,” Scanlon said.

In his first year as club president, Scanlon is focused on making the club not just distance dominant, but also dominant in sprint and field events. In the past, the club has only had distance runners and few sprinters, if any. In hopes of becoming a complete track and field team, the club is attempting to attract athletes who have a history of field experience in areas such as throwing events.  

The club also has a women’s team that is not as competitive as the men’s team, but is still a force to be reckoned with. The women’s squad will look to sophomore newcomer Linnea Stephens and junior Meg Tully to lead the way.

Stephens was unable to compete last season due to a stress fracture in her foot, but will try to bounce back with a strong sophomore campaign. In her first race back at the UNI Jack Jennet Invitational, Stephens shattered the ISU Running Club mile record with a time of 5:27.54.

“I had a goal to hit a certain time by nationals and to hit that time in my first race is really exciting,” Stephens said. “I saw the time of the runner in front of me and I figured I had a bad race, so I wasn’t expecting to have as good of a time as I did.”

Tully, a veteran of the ISU Running Club, is coming off a cross country season that ended with her as an All-American. Tully was also an All-American in the half-marathon as well, and said she hopes to have another dominant season that ends with a national championship trophy in her hands.

It is extremely difficult to prepare for the season in Iowa winters. The club does not get derailed by a little snow, but rather braves the elements if the members feel that it is safe endeavor. If deemed unsafe, the team takes its practice to Lied Gym and uses the track there. The club practices several times a week and the runners can go to all practices or just one.

“That’s the beauty of running for a club team — it’s way more relaxed than an NCAA team and we can have fun while we run,” Robertson said. 

As a club, the men’s and women’s teams compete in four to five races in the cross country season, which is held during the fall semester. During the track and field season, which runs throughout the spring semester, the teams will participate in five to six races. If a runner wishes to race more, he or she can run unattached from the club as an individual.

The competition that the club sees at these meets varies from fellow club teams to NCAA squads, spanning all three divisions. When stacking up the ISU Running Club to an NCAA team, Robertson says the club is comparable to a Division III team.

In hopes of winning nationals, the club will compete in four to five more meets to gear up for nationals, which are held in April. The runners know they will be dominant in the half-marathon, but how they will fare in track and field competitions remains to be seen.