Following the closure of the OHSAA cross country season, we, at MileSplit, are always on the lookout for interesting stories to help showcase our state's great athletes and shed light to the sport's community at-large some under the radar achievements that could otherwise go unnoticed.
Did we ever find one of them in the form of Ryan Shelton!
Shelton, a senior classman from Anthony Wayne, pulled off a double last weekend that was about as unique as any we've ever come across.
First, at the OHSAA State Championships, on Saturday, Shelton's Anthony Wayne squad placed 8th in the Division I race.
Individually, on the day, he was the team's number three man finishing 64th overall and in the No. 38 position among runners competing on behalf of team-based qualifiers.
He produced a 16:00.86 mark, which was close to his season's (and career) best of 15:56.27 that he ran a few weeks earlier at District - Leaders Farms.
All-in-all, it was a very solid showing and a nice cap to his senior XC campaign.
But that's when things just started to get interesting. Forget about a well-deserved Sunday off. Rather, Shelton hit the track first thing in the morning and busted out a marathon distance training run.
That'd equate to 105.5 laps of Anthony Wayne's 400 meter oval.
According to his Strava stats, Shelton covered the 26.2 mile distance in 2:56 for a 6:43 pace per mile. This all coming less than 24-hours after navigating the Obetz 5-kilometer route in what stands as the biggest race of his high school tenure.
For all the granular details on Shelton's remarkable accomplishment, watch his feature interview above and be sure to take notice to his work on Strava below.
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Time Stamps
- 0:00 - Episode Intro
- 1:10 - Ryan reviews Anthony Wayne's XC season
- 2:45 - Highlighting the team's improvement from District through Regional and onto State
- 4:35 - Recapping his individual development as a runner
- 6:30 - Using his experience at State as a sophomore to his advantage at this year's meet
- 7:50 - Why he decided to run a marathon training run on the track
- 10:15 - When and how this marathon training run plan came together
- 11:00 - Outlining what his goals were for the run
- 12:00 - Talking about the consistency of his miles during the run
- 13:55 - Showcasing his support crew on marathon day
- 15:35 - Speaking to his wide distance range as an athlete
- 16:40 - How fast he think he could run if specifically trained for a marathon
- 17:55 - The possibility of his potential future in marathoning
- 18:40 - Talking about pursuing road racing competition in the years ahead
- 19:35 - Talking about how fun it was
- 20:05 - Members of the public wondering what he was doing at the track
- 21:00 - Thanking his network of supporters
- 22:15 - Commenting on who's reaction was the best regarding his accomplishment
- 23:10 - What his recovery looked like following the run
- 24:10 - If there's any possibility of further XC racing this postseason
- 25:05 - Indoor season goals
- 25:50 - Outdoor season goals
- 26:45 - College competition possibilities
- 28:15 - Episode Closing
