Western runner’s dominance plagued by injury

Kokomo Perspective - Tuesday, October 15, 2013

—Western High School senior Matt Grider began running after being inspired by his dad and brother, but also Western star runner Kyle Walsh. He began his career in middle school and continued to run all four years of high school.

The season started out promising for Grider as he won the first six races of the season before falling to third at the New Prairie meet.

Last month, he was given a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis, a painful and nagging issue in the foot where the plantar fascia, or the thick band of tissue that reaches from the toes to the heel supporting the arch of the foot, becomes overstretched and torn, causing inflammation and pain.

The discomfort from the plantar fasciitis caused Grider to greatly cut back his runs in order to heal.

“In the last month I’ve only gotten half my mileage or less, but I’ve been cross training: swimming, aqua jogging, biking. In the last week, I’ve half-ran some, but not very much,” he said.

Grider did run in the MIC meet, finishing second after pacing and pushing three of his teammates to a top team finish, earning them bragging rights on the season.

"I’ll be able to help motivate them and keep them on their pace. It’s a lot easier to run times if there are people pushing you. It’s harder to run faster by yourself. That will help them. I’m going to try to help three guys on my team. So if we get a big enough group, we can move up as a pack,” he said

This was not the first time his coach asked him to help pace a teammate during a competition. At the meet prior to MIC, Grider ran in the junior varsity heat so he could get in some miles, but not put extra stress on his injury. He was asked to pace a teammate during the meet, and the teammate achieved a personal record during the meet

“He was the only one that PR’d that meet. That was kind of cool,” he said.

Grider relies on his leadership skills and expertise in running races to help push his team, especially if they are running as a pack.

“I can give the guys tips during the race – tell them when they need to surge, when they don’t need to surge, stuff like that. And when they succeed, that helps me do better, too,” he said.