For Ryan Bak, running is more than just a job or a sport: it’s a passion. Bak’s passion for running has earned him one of the most impressive résumés of any Saint Louis coach.
Bak, one of three new additions to SLU’s cross country and track and field coaching staff did not start running competitively until his junior year of high school. A converted soccer player, Bak claims he got into the sport because all of his friends were doing it, just for “social reasons.”
He caught on quickly though, and won a state championship his first year of indoor track at the high school level.
After high school, Bak attended Trinity College in Connecticut. There, Bak was a ten-time All-America selection and won three NCAA Division III national championships. Bak then went on to qualify in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials. In 2008, he competed for United States national team in the World Cross Country Championships in Scotland.
Even with all of his successes, Bak has faced just as many difficulties.
“I’ve spent over 50 percent of my professional career overcoming injuries,” Bak said.
Bak believes his experience with battling injuries is one of the biggest contributions he can bring to the team. He understands how to properly treat all of the common injuries runners face, and he is big on the prevention of overuse.
So far this season, Bak has helped lead the women’s cross-country team to a third place finish in the WU Big River Running Early Bird meet at Forest Park on Sept. 5 and another third place at Missouri XC challenge in Columbia, Mo.
Sophomore Hilary Orf led the team both weeks, finishing fourth overall in the first event and 12th in the second. Orf posted a 4K time of 15:24 in tough, rainy conditions at the Early Bird and a 5K time of 19:38.3 at the Missouri XC Challenge.
“[The Early Bird] was a positive way to open the season,” Bak said, but added, “We are not quite showing all of our cards yet.”
The men’s team finished fifth and third respectively in the Early Bird and the Missouri XC Challenge.
Perhaps Bak’s most striking personality trait is his energy. When asked why he runs, Bak simply replied that it is his passion, “It’s not a money sport, you do it for love.”
