7 Questions with Nebraska runner Hayley Sutter

VITALS

Name: Hayley Sutter

Age: 24

Born and Raised: Lincoln, Nebraska (Southeast High School)

Currently Lives: Lincoln, Nebraska

Occupation: University of Nebraska Public Policy Center

PR's: 1:21:32 Half Marathon (Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon, 2013); 1:01:16 10 Mile (State Farm 2014); 22:05 6k Cross Country (Tori Neubauer Invitational, 2009)

Fave Shoes: Brooks Pure Flow for training. My favorite racing flats are the Saucony Type A6 (I call them my business shoes because when I wear them it's time to do work)

Hayley Sutter enjoys her stretch of trail just south of the Lincoln Zoo.

Respect the Run: When did you start running and were you always a strong runner? 

Hayley Sutter: The first time I remember purposefully going on a run was when I was 9 or 10 years old. However, I didn’t start running to become a better runner until I was in high school and, even then, I wasn’t overly dedicated at first. The first few weeks of track season involved a lot of walking and stopping at friend’s houses for mid-run snack breaks. About halfway through the season I realized I might be able to make the varsity track team and I started getting more serious about running. I don’t really think I became a strong runner until I was a sophomore or junior in college.

RTR: What was your favorite distance to race in college and what distance do you like now?

HS: My favorite race in college was the 6k cross country course. I am generally a strong and confident runner so it was always fun for me to be able to catch people in the last half of the race. If I am having an especially hard week or need to refocus my running I still go out to Pioneers Park for a hard run. My favorite distance now is definitely the half marathon. I only have two half marathons under my belt right now but am hoping to be able to run 2 or 3 this year.

RTR: How is post-collegiate running treating you compared to college? Do you have a coach? Is running for Lincoln Running Company Racing keeping you motivated? 

HS: At first, post-collegiate running wasn’t even in the picture. After graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan, I was mentally and physically burnt out and took almost an entire year off from consistently running. I am really glad I took the time off though because I was able to reconnect with my love of running and now it is something I look forward to and 100% enjoy. I don’t have a coach per se – I write my own workouts, tell myself when to go where and how fast, and decide what races I am going to run and what effort I will put forth – but I do have a group of people whose involvement in my running is far beyond that of an interested bystander. Ann Ringlein was my college coach and in many ways still is my coach. I ask her for advice and guidance regularly and would probably be terribly injured or undertrained if it weren’t for her. My dad, boyfriend, and dearest friends have also helped to encourage me and give me suggestions to improve my running. In addition, LRC Racing has been instrumental in helping me continue to grow as a runner by providing me with a network of people who have similar goals. A few weeks ago two of the LRC boys and I met on the track for a workout; even though I did a different workout than the boys it was nice to have someone encouraging me and reminding me to swing my arms efficiently.

RTR: What does a typical week of training look like for you? What kind of mileage and workouts do you normally like to do?

HS: I average between 60-80 miles a week and generally do a workout on Tuesday and incorporate a long workout into my weekend long run. In addition, I decided early on in my career that I was going to run to work as much as possible and for over a year now I have been making the 3 mile commute regularly – meaning I run about 30 miles a week with a backpack on. I think my biggest key to success has been my long run workouts; they allow me to get a really solid workout in that I wouldn’t be able to do if I were going a shorter distance. One of my favorites is 7-8 sets of 5 minutes hard and 5 minutes easy. The long recovery allows me to really get after the 5 minutes hard and by doing 7-8 sets I get a really good endurance workout.

RTR: What are your goal races for 2014?  Is there a marathon in your future?

HS: My biggest goal race will be the Kansas City Half Marathon. I was able to win the race last year and want to come back and set a PR this year. I am also looking forward to the (Columbus, NE) Downtown Runaround, Harvest Moon Hustle, and Nebraska Wesleyan Alumni XC meet. I have this very arbitrary idea that when I am 27 years old I will be physically and mentally ready to run a marathon (I have no idea how I came up with 27 but it has stuck). I am 24 now so in 3 years you will likely see my debut marathon on the first Sunday in May at the Lincoln Marathon. (Note: Hayley is competing in the Lincoln Half Marathon this year on May 4th, 2014.)

RTR: I was running in Lincoln a few weeks ago and noticed your name on a sign. You have adopted a local stretch of trail! Tell me about that.

HS: Yes! I adopted a section of the trail about a year ago after I noticed how much abuse the trails get. As someone who relies on the trail network, I wanted to be able to give back and tell Parks and Rec thank you for everything they do to keep our trails clear and convenient. I take a lot of pride in my trail and get a little heart broken when I see people littering on it or damaging the flora along it. The coolest thing about my trail is I adopted it back in April of 2013 and every day when I was running home from work I would look to see if they had put the sign up yet and when they finally did it was on my birthday! It was one of the best presents I got that year and I have a really great picture of me and the sign right after I first saw it. I encourage everyone who uses and enjoys Lincoln’s trails or parks to consider adopting one (Visit here to find out how you can adopt a trail or park).

RTR: You also have recently started a philanthropic group called Good Runners, Better People. What's the idea behind this group? 

HS: The idea for Good Runners, Better People came when I was cleaning out my closet and decided to tackle my running clothes as well. After sorting through my clothes I went out for my daily run; however, I could not stop thinking about all the excess running clothes I had and came up with the idea of hosting clothing drives to benefit local high school athletes. After discussing the idea with my teammate Ryan Dostal, he and I approached LRC Racing to get the project started as an initiative of the team. Good Runners, Better People has since grown and is now a three-part philanthropy of clothing drives for technical running gear, redistribution sales at participating middle and high schools, and a college scholarship for high school runners focused on the positive impact of running. With the full support of the Lincoln Track Club and BRIN Racing Series we have been able to hold three very successful clothing drives and will continue to be present at all LTC and BRIN Races. In addition, nearly half of Lincoln’s high schools are Good Runners, Better People partnering schools and we will have the first redistribution sales in August or September of 2014.

More than a clothing drive, Good Runners, Better People is a philanthropy seeking to help established runners to become better citizens and create a more welcoming running community. I like to think of our name not only as a summary of the philanthropy, but also as our challenge to Lincoln’s running community. If you would like to learn more about Good Runners, Better People visit our website or Facebook Page.

RTR: Hayley, it's great you are finding so many ways to give back! Great talking with you and best of luck racing this year!