Coach Murphy Featured in RunMichigan

Provided by Dave McCauley, RunMichigan.com

http://www.runmichigan.com/view.php?id=19826

By Dave McCauley, RunMichigan.com

ROCHESTER, MICH -- Coming out of high school in upstate New York, long time Rochester resident Laura Murphy wasn't attracting too much attention from college coaches. Her high school track PR's were fairly respectable at 2:20 for 800 meters and 5:23 for 1600. Her 5K cross country best was 19:41.

There was one coach though who decided to give her a chance at continuing her running career at the collegiate level. For Murphy, that chance, as a walk-on at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, proved to be the perfect opportunity. It was that interest from that one coach, Sid Sink at Bowling Green, that proved the difference.

In college, Murphy turned that 19:41 5K cross country PR into a very respectable 17:14 while turning in an 800 meter PR of 2:10. Her strength though was in the 1500 where she ran a best of 4:25 while taking home 4 straight Mid American Conference outdoor 1500 Meter titles.

After college, she took to the roads, reaching best times of 17:04 for 5K, 34:28 for 10K, 1:16 for the half marathon and 2:48 for the marathon. She also qualified twice for the Women's Olympic Trials Marathon.

Murphy, who took over this past year as the Women's Cross Country Coach at Rochester College, is now in a position to give potential runners that same chance she was given.

Rochester College, a small liberal arts college located at the southern edge of Rochester, Michigan, competes athletically as part of the NAIA and the USCAA. Similar schools in Michigan who compete on that same level include U of M Dearborn, Madonna, Spring Arbor and Cornerstone. While Rochester College has competed successfully in other intercollegiate sports for a number of years, Women's Cross Country will be in its second existence. 2013 will be the sport's first year back since the early to mid 1990's.

The college's proximity to both the Clinton River and Paint Creek Trails and the rolling dirt roads of the Rochester area, make it a great place for distance training. And being a smaller college, Murphy feels that runners from smaller high schools would be a great fit at Rochester College.

Bringing her love of running, a strong competitive edge and a team oriented approach to the program, Murphy wants the runners who compete at Rochester College to reach their full potential, both in college and beyond. She feels that no matter who you are, whether you had great high school success or not or if you ran your better times as a freshman or sophomore, there is still the chance to succeed and improve at the college level.

"I think that for everyone -- even the girls whose PR's were in the 9th and 10th grade -- there's still room for development. There's room for you to improve and get stronger and faster. You just have to be willing to do the work," Murphy commented.

She went on to discuss the team aspect of the sport and what a great experience that was for her and what she feels it can be for those who come to Rochester College.

"Being on the team was everything. Just being with such a large group of talented, dedicated, fun women that I'm still friends with -- that made all the difference. That's what I hope to build (the team aspect of it) and that's what it's all about. It's a team sport."

Murphy also feels that if you love the sport and want to learn more, that you'll be prepared in many ways after your experience.

"After four years, hopefully you'll be that much better and have a tool bag to take with you, to take to road races, marathons or triathlons. Whatever a runner wants to do with her running, my hope is that she will still love the sport as much the day she graduates as the day she got here. And, that she'll want to keep going and see what she can do."

From an academic standpoint, she feels that the smaller school atmosphere is a great way to get the best and the most personal attention to help toward your goals.

"It could be nothing but positive. There are so many resources at the college academically. Even if you come in unsure of what you want to major in, there are all kinds of academic resources available to you."

Although Rochester College will only have a cross country team for women and not track, Murphy sees that as a positive.

"As much as I love track, I think it's more of a burden academically. With just cross country and no track, certainly you are still training year 'round, but it's not at that intense level where you'd have to be competing nine months out of the year."

The smaller atmosphere with more personal attention and very good training could make Rochester a great fit.

Whether someone is a top runner coming out of high school or just one who enjoys running and wants to be part of a team and see where the experience takes them, Murphy seeks to encourage and help each athlete reach her potential.

"My main goal is development and that could mean something different to everyone who comes here. To have that collegiate athletic experience, no matter what level you're at, is not something that everyone does. It's certainly something to add to your academic experience and collegiate life."

For more information on Rochester College and its women's cross country program, you can contact Coach Murphy at lmurphy@rc.edu or by phone at (248) 935-4708.