A distance runner from Loveland, Ohio, senior Jack Butler runs an average of 90 miles a week and competes on Hillsdale College’s cross-country and track teams.
What’s the best part about distance running?
The feeling you get after a work out. I’m addicted to the soreness that I feel after I finish. I’ve found that the only way you can succeed as a runner is if you accept you’re some kind of crazy. I became crazy a long time ago, and that’s fine with me. Sanity is overrated.
How did you become a distance runner?
A lot goes into that. I settled on distance running because I tried just about every other sport and I was no good at any of them. My dad was a distance runner and it turned out that I was OK at it as well. I also happen to enjoy it. It requires a lot of discipline, motivation, you have to be in your own head a lot. It’s helpful to be on a team, but I think every distance runner is ultimately alone. As bleak as that sounds, it aligns nicely with my naturally introverted personality. To be a good runner, you have to be content with long periods of loneliness. I can go on a ten-mile run by myself and keep myself entertained by my own thoughts.
How do you psych yourself up before a long run?
I don’t really. I take more of a calm, confident, business-like approach. I try not to treat things as being that big of a deal. What I need to do doesn’t involve stimulating myself as much as it does restraining myself. If I get too excited, then I’ll do the first mile of an 8K in 4:40 and be dead. I tend to think a lot when I’m running and have to make sure that my thoughts don’t become negative or too unfocused.
How often do you run?
I do a lot in unrecorded practice hours and I spend about 10 hours a week just running, not counting gaps between runs or waiting for coaches to tell you what to do. In terms of total commitment, I would say 25 hours a week is a pretty conservative estimate.
How do you manage your time?
It requires a lot of finesse. Last spring I was in a one-act play and for a month my schedule was like a puzzle. I had a Jonah Goldberg seminar, running, the play, classes, and a Gadfly event to plan at the same time. So it is possible to have a life beyond running even if you’re taking it seriously. The difficulty of time management obviously increases the more you run. That’s a trade off you have to take to become better. In life you can’t do everything—you have to choose what to do and skills to hone based on your preexisting talents and what you enjoy. Also, sleep. At minimum you need 7.5 hours of sleep. You can’t have a typical college sleeping scheduling—sleeping irregular hours or not at all—and still be at your best.
Do you know what you’ll be doing after you graduate from Hillsdale?
I figure at some point I’m going to end up in D.C. doing something. But I don’t know what or for how long. I’d be happy doing anything that tangentially related to my interests as long as it’s something. That’s sounds vague but the most important thing is just to go out into the world and do something. When you’re young enough, the “what” doesn’t really matter. As long as it’s a start. Now, someday I would like to be a writer of some kind, focusing on political and cultural issues. I also might try to run for office someday—just for fun. I’d probably lose, but it’s a good experience and I’d be willing to try it just to learn a lot.
