Our Muskie of the Week is Emma Ziepke. Emma is a freshman majoring in exercise science at Lakeland and a member of the women's cross country team. She is a Manawa, Wis., native who found her home at Lakeland by running a sub 5K that her high school participated in.
Q: How long have you been running?
E: I started running when I was three years old, and I started cross country when I was in third grade. This season was my 11th cross country season and I have been running for close to 16 years now.
Q: How did your season go?
E: My season went well. It had its ups and downs just like every other season. I ended on a good note. It was probably the best college race I've had.
Q: How did it feel being one of the very few people on your team? Do you think this helped or hindered your performance.
E: It honestly sucked being the only girl. I wish I had at least one other girl on the team. The nice part was that the three of us (Travis Eitel, Owen Luedtke and I) worked very well together and would push one another during practice and cheer one another on during the meets. I do not think being the only girl hindered my performance, but it did affect me mentally and made me stronger.
Q: Why do you think people should run cross country?
E: Running is great for mental health, and to me it really is not that hard to run. It's mind over matter. Your body can physically do it, but mentally you think you cannot. Running is 90% mental.
Q: What is your perfect fuel before a run?
E: PB & J's, granola bars and water
Q: What do you do to get better at running/better your times?
E: Run!! The more I ran and the farther I ran (within reason) I got better.
Q: What is something fun you do in your free time when you are not doing schoolwork or training?
E: Watch movies with my roommate and do karaoke. I also love to read but rarely find the time or motivation to do so anymore.
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