By Keighla Schmidt
UWRF Sports Information

Running is not an easy sport to keep up with - no pun intended.

Photos taken of runners are often featured with their faces scrunched up and with furrowed brows. Ever wonder what they're thinking?

When running, often the biggest competition is with your own mind. Constantly telling yourself to take another step, to go faster and get ahead of the person in front of you.

Runners are competing on more than one level, mentally and physically.

Falcon senior cross country Kevin McDonough loves to compete. "It's the main reason I have to run," he said.

Another reason for running, he said, was to keep him in shape, and ready to play any other sport. He said he is always up for any game.

McDonough began running in his junior year at Prescott high school. He said that he started so late because before that he played football. "I was too small for football," he said. He played wide receiver as a high school freshman and sophomore.

He said he switched with a group of his friends because the school got a new cross country coach, and it was one of his friend's dad.   "It was a better fit," McDonough said.

After running in high school for two years it was time for McDonough to decide on a college.

He chose to come to River Falls because he is a self admitted "momma's boy," and wanted to stay close to his family. He likes that he can run home and do laundry or go out to dinner with his family.

Falcon coach Don Glover said McDonough is a "local boy made good."

Before he came to River Falls however, he kept going back and forth on running at a collegiate level. He was unsure if he wanted to make the commitment or not.

Lucky for the Falcons, he eventually decided that he would.

Running in both cross country and track as a freshman helped to prepare McDonough for his sophomore year. He came in first for the Falcons at the WIAC meet that year. His personal record is from his sophomore year at 27:07 - a time that puts him in the top 20 Falcon runners since 1990.  

In his junior year McDonough faced some challenges. He was not a consistent runner. He would one week finish in the lead and then the next come in near the end of the pack.

McDonough said he had a weak off-season before his junior year, and that's the reason he performed poorly. Because of his inconsistency, he was not able to be on the team that ran at the regional meet.

There must have been some motivation he discovered that year, because McDonough worked hard all summer to prepare for his last year as a Falcon. Putting in more miles than he ever has before has made him a better runner. Glover can see the fruits of that hard labor. He said McDonough is "much more consistent this year." He said he comes in as one of the team's top three runners each meet.

McDonough says it's because he spent much of the summer running. He trained hard with teammate Eric Nordgren, "he was my crutch," McDonough said.

While McDonough leans on Nordgren, the team often will lean on him. McDonough is a co-captain this year.   He said he makes a good captain because he is "enthusiastic, outspoken and charismatic - people on the team like to listen to me."

Glover agrees, he said McDonough is one of the top runners so when he gives compliments it means a lot. He said McDonough has a good sense of humor, is a hard worker in practice and he does a good job of encouraging his teammates.

McDonough sees his role as more than that. He said he is "a bridge between the coach and the team." When an issue arises, it becomes his responsibility to bring it to the attention of the other side.   Through that role he has seen himself "mature a lot," he said. "I've become a better leader."

Learning leadership skills is one thing that he can carry over from cross country to real life. He has also learned that he can be tough, motivated and dedicated to something. McDonough plans to use some of those skills after graduating with a degree in business.

"Going back and getting a teaching degree has always been an option," McDonough said. But, he said, it's likely that he will go into a business and learn the ropes, the specifics he is unsure about.

Being a student athlete is not easy, McDonough said. "It's hard to find time for everything."

Despite having his family just a town over he rarely finds time to go home. School work he said is often hard to find time to do.

Outside of school work and athletics, McDonough likes to play volleyball, basketball or just any sport. He also likes to play video games and spend time with the people closest to him.

His solution to keeping an organized schedule is to prioritize. He knows what needs to be done first. Without that he would not be able to do everything. He said that since running is such a mental sport it's hard to stay motivated all the time.

McDonough is succeeding though. He has been the team's Runner of the Week and says it's nice to be recognized and to know that someone has noticed.   "It helps realize why you're doing what you're doing," McDonough said.

In a sport that McDonough describes as not having many spectators, he gets a good feeling knowing that someone else sees the hard work he is putting into the sport.

Running so well this year, with consistent times, he said he feels he is more secure with the post season possibilities.

As a goal he would like to break 27 minutes before the season is over. For the team McDonough hopes that they will finish in the top four at the WIAC Meet.

"Just wanna stay in it, runnin' hard and runnin' tough," McDonough said.

Kevin McDonough