D3 Glory Days

View Original

Episode 99 - Samuel Gerstenbacher

See this content in the original post

An unofficial series is coming to D3 Glory Days called ‘The Lost Season.’ We’re going to be interviewing those who lost their senior track season due to COVID-19. While many want to forget that time, we want to be a place where people can share their thoughts and help in the process of moving on. The second guest in this series is Samuel Gerstenbacher from Elizabethtown.

Samuel’s approach to running is something we can all relate to: he wants to run for as along as he can. While the fast times and new PRs are fun to Samuel, the act of going for a run is most important. In the episode he said, “For me, running is an expression of who I am as a person at this point. And I think a lot of people get to that point when they do it long enough.”

After losing his season to COVID-19, Samuel took time away from running. On one hand he wanted to let some injuries heal, but the loss of the season destroyed his motivation. It took a few months but the realization of not having structured training a part of his routine was unsettling to him. He slowly built his mileage back up and got back into racing shape.

The 2022 track season was fruitful for Samuel. He posted PRs in the 1500, Steeple and 5k running 3:47, 8:38, 14:06 respectively. While he’ll eye road races this fall, he’s eager to get back onto the track to break some big time barriers.

Quotes

On Running Post Collegiately

“If I run a poor race today because I just mentally check out, that's on me and I'm the only one that has to live with it. And if I run, fantastic, then I get to ride this until the next race. So that was kind of the mindset I used to approach my entire year with.”

On Getting Back to Training

“It feels so good just to be training and that's kind of what keeps me going regularly, to be honest. Just knowing that being in it and training, even if you're not fully like gearing up for some peak races, just the process of training feels great.”

On The Love of Running

“I feel like a lot of people when you're out of it, you're out of it. And it's hard to remember what it was like when you were in it. But then when you force yourself back into it, you're like, ‘Oh man, I remember why I did this.’”

On Why He Runs

“For me, running is an expression of who I am as a person at this point. And I think a lot of people get to that point when they do it long enough.”

Rate or Review D3 Glory Days!

As always, we really appreciate your support of this podcast. If you’d like to help spread the word, share the podcast with a friend, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or leave a rating on Spotify!

Follow D3 Glory Days

If you want to rep D3 Glory Days on your next run, head to our Merch Store. And finally, follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter and Strava.

3-Year Anniversary

3 Years ago today we released our first episode with Will Leer! It’s been a blast bringing more coverage to the division. If you enjoyed any piece of content we’ve shared article, podcast, or social media posts please consider making a $3 donation in light of the special occasion! D3 Glory Days Venmo.

D3 Glory Days Patreon

We launched a Patreon! As we said, we will never go behind a paywall - so any support is greatly appreciated.

We enjoy bringing you this content and we realized we could do so much more with a little bit of backing. We want to ensure D3 gets the coverage it deserves and keeping this website paywall free! If you have enjoyed this podcast and the articles we have put, please consider becoming a Patron of D3 Glory Days. In full disclosure, the money will go directly into the show: equipment, subscriptions we need, and most importantly, money to our writers. If you are able, we would appreciate your support.