As 2025 wraps up and we finish another incredible year of local athletics, let's take a moment to look back on the highlights and achievements of the Blue Water Area and how athletes have shown us what it means to push limits, break barriers, and strive for greatness. We'll be shining the spotlight on the standout performances, record-breaking moments, and inspiring stories from cross country and track and field in our community this year.

So, lace up your shoes, get ready to sprint into the new year, and join me as we celebrate the best of Blue Water Running from 2025.

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into the Blue Water Running podcast. It has been an extreme joy and privilege to be a part of such amazing accomplishments across our area this year. If you would like to listen to more of the athlete interviews featured in this episode, you can tune in to prior episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and on the website at bluewaterrunning.org.

A very special thank you to this year’s sponsors, Elite Feet of Port Huron and Verlinde Insurance, who have helped make coverage possible. Thank you also to each and every one of you for listening, reading, and subscribing: you are the reason Blue Water Running exists. I wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing what 2026 brings!

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Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

GVSU runner Abby Vanderkooi is back for another episode of the pod and has a great perspective to share. If you haven’t heard her first interview, I highly encourage you to take a listen, as she details her incredibly inspiring story of recovering from disordered eating. Abby was a cross country state champion for Muskegon Western Christian High School all four years of high school, with a 5K best of 16:48, and on the track had bests of 10:29 in the 3200, 4:57 in 1600, and placed third in the nation at the 2018 Foot Locker National XC Meet. However, despite her amazing successes, Abby struggled through some very dark years as she battled an eating disorder and the recurrent injuries that plagued her throughout the majority of her collegiate career. She firmly believes the most important thing in life isn’t JUST running - it’s being a healthy, balanced person with running as a part of her life. She is an outspoken advocate for transparency surrounding the stigma of eating disorders and recovery for people struggling with the same issues, particularly through her Instagram account, Running on Ice Cream. You can take a listen to her story on Season 1, Episode 20.

After working hard at staying mentally and physically healthy, Abby has had her best year yet: she recently wrapped up her collegiate cross country career at the Division 2 National meet in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on November 22, where she placed sixth in 20:25 for the 6K distance, earning All-American honors and leading the Lakers to a D2 team title, edging out Colorado School of Mines by four points. She just opened her indoor track season at the GVSU Holiday Open, where she ran a 16:28 to take fifth, also a PR.

We will catch up with Abby, hear her perspective on her latest accomplishments, and discuss what goals she has in mind for the future. She will also remind you to stay consistent and healthy, keep your love for the sport, don’t compare yourself to others, and believe that you are strong and capable, no matter where you are in your sports journey.

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU CARE ABOUT IS STRUGGLING WITH AN EATING DISORDER, PLEASE REACH OUT AND GET THE HELP YOU NEED. Talk to a trusted friend, teammate, coach, doctor, or anyone who can point you in the right direction to begin your journey back to physical AND mental health. You can also find resources through the National Eating Disorders Association website. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/. You deserve to be the best version of yourself you can be, for now and in the future.

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"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me. But if we get on the treadmill together, there are two things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple."
-Will Smith

In this episode, former Anchor Bay athlete and current MSU Spartan Thomas Westphal is back for his second interview, and wow, a lot has happened since he last came on the pod in June of 2024. If you haven’t heard our first conversation, it’s season 1, episode 14. I encourage you to take a listen, as it gives you more context, where we talked about his debut in the sport in his first cross country race as a high school freshman, running his first 5k in 22:23. Thomas then went on to overcome injuries and obstacles to chase dreams with determination, hard work, guts, and grit and become the most successful runner in Anchor Bay history and one of the best in the state, winning the Midwest Foot Locker cross country regional, a 3200 meter state title, setting multiple school records, and more.

Since graduating high school, Thomas redshirted his first year at Michigan State University, training through the 2024-25 school year, and debuted this fall as a collegiate freshman. He immediately made an impact for the Spartans, turning the heads of the Big Ten conference and the NCAA as a whole. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and helped MSU place second in the Big Ten Championships (their best finish since 2016), with an 8K PR of 23:25 to finish third overall and the highest-placing freshman. Thomas was later named to the Great Lakes All-Region team in his first attempt at the 10K distance, taking 12th in 30:06, then dropped that PR to a 29:19 at the NCAA Championships to finish 59th as the top runner for MSU on the Gans Creek course in Missouri. He was voted the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by Big Ten Coaches, the first Spartan man to do so since 2011 and only the fifth overall.

Thomas will give us some insight into his phenomenal NCAA championship debut, his transition to collegiate life and running, a look inside his training, and what the future holds for him as he competes at the D1 level.

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast: please share an episode to help spread the word about Blue Water Running’s mission, which is to feature and celebrate the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from our area. You can also subscribe and leave a review. You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players. You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast.

You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, along with athlete and meet reports and photography on the website at bluewaterrunning.org. A subscription to the website with unlimited access to all articles is $5 a month or $50 for the entire year and helps cover the cost of web, podcast, and photography site hosting.

Blue Water Running coverage is sponsored in part by Elite Feet of Port Huron and Verlinde Insurance, both located in Richmond, Michigan.

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