Andrew Bloom has been running for as long as he can remember. He says he was the kid who was always racing somebody — and he’s still that kid at the University of Idaho.
The Walla Walla, Wash., native walked on to the track and field team after he made it a personal goal to join the program and make an impact. He didn’t receive any scholarship offers out of high school and the road to Moscow wasn’t an easy one.
“I started (running) in middle school, and I wasn’t very good at all,” he said.
During his sophomore year in high school Bloom ran a 58-second 400, which he wasn’t particularly proud off. But he started to progress and eventually ran for the varsity squad.
Bloom started training on his own, working out during the off-season and taking strength training physical education classes throughout high school.
“There is just something about it that I love doing. It’s fun, the team comradery,” Bloom said.
By the time he graduates from Idaho, Bloom said he hopes he can help his team achieve a WAC Championship.
Hannah Kiser didn’t always know she was going to be a runner, even though physical endurance is in her blood. When she was young she went on a hike with her father — five miles in scorching 95-degree heat.
“He squashed me,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘He’s my dad. I can’t be worse than my dad.'”
And so began Kiser’s affair with the sport. She continued to train with her father — which she said gave her the endurance to compete. She kept going on runs, and eventually joined her middle school track team.
“I just kind of did it because I’ve always been kind of competive.”
Kiser said her friends on the team at the time were better than her, which served as motivation.
“Obviously you get kind of addicted to running and it just escalates from there,” Kiser said.
She kept getting better, but colleges didn’t notice until Idaho’s Wayne Phipps made the call.
“I didn’t get any offers anywhere else. I was in a financial tight spot and it ended up being the best decision I ever made,” she said. “I wasn’t planning on running in college at all, (but) it defines 90 percent of who I am.”
Her dedication to the program at Idaho she said is a give-and-take situation. She doesn’t feel pressured by the possibility of losing her scholarship money as she might with other programs.
“I don’t know where I would be without it because it was the only offer that I got. And when I got it I don’t think I deserved it,” Kiser said. “He put his trust in me. I don’t have to run this fast to keep my scholarship but I want to give everything back to the school and coach Phipps because he believes in me.”