BLOG 5: Muir settles into comfort zone running for Bulldogs

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State cross country runner Tina Muir nears the finish line during the team’s home meet, the Bulldog Invitational. Muir, a native of the United Kingdom, has made a solid transition to competing in collegiate cross country for the Bulldogs (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Tina Muir, a native of St. Albans in the United Kingdom, is a long way from home, but grows increasingly comfortable by the day.

Actually, Muir credits time she spent last year at Ferris – when she was not competing for the Bulldogs – for her smooth transition. The transitional year has paid off as proven by her 11th place finish at the recent 36th annual Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational (Sept. 27) at Montrose Beach in Chicago. Muir clocked an 11th-place time of 18:24 in the 5K race that featured 330 runners.

“It was really nice for me to have been here last year to get used to everything even though I did not actually get a chance to run with the team in competition,” said Muir, who earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Runner of the Week honors for her performance in Chicago (Oct. 1). “It was a nice opportunity for me to get used to the new surroundings, to get used to a new school, my teammates and living away from home. It really helped me to become a lot more comfortable and that has helped me get ready (for this season).”

Muir, and teammates from the women’s and men’s Bulldog cross country teams also have had to get used to a new coaching style as interim head coach Steve Picucci has taken charge of the program this fall. Picucci has brought a different style of coaching to the programs. His style has challenged runners like Muir to not only train and run harder, but to run more disciplined and set a pace that will have the runners at their peak levels at the end of the season rather than at the beginning or in the middle.

So far, the approach has drawn rave reviews.

“It is exactly what we needed,” said Muir, whose team has been ranked as high as 19th in the nation and is listed seventh in the (Sept. 30) Division II Midwest Regional Rankings of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. “We all worked hard this summer and we continued to work hard in the fall … Steve is an amazing coach. He has been great for us to push us and also to support us so that we will be running our best when we get to the end of the season (for the GLIAC championship meet as well as the NCAA Division II regional meet – which will be at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, on Nov. 8).”

Muir has been the team’s leading runner in all three meets this season and has recorded a pair of top-10 finishes. She was second in the season-opening meet in The GLIAC Preview Meet Sault Ste. Marie (Sept. 5) and then she earned a third-place finish at the Bulldog Invitational in Big Rapids (Sept. 19).

The Bulldogs next compete in Kenosha, Wis. at the Wisconsin-Parkside Lucian Rosa Open (Oct. 11).

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com