Ryan, the reigning champion of local road races such as the Great Pumpkin Challenge at Saratoga Spa State Park or the Cantina Kids Fun Run through downtown Saratoga Springs, will be headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico to compete in the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. He qualified after winning the local race held in Delmar, before finishing third in the regional race held in Long Island against runners his age from all over the northeast including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine and of course, New York.
When asked if he’s the fastest kid in his class, Ryan doesn’t take long to respond with a resounding “Oh, yeah!”
Ryan, who adds that he’s never been to New Mexico before, is hopeful he’ll perform well at the national meet. At only 8 years old, he has his sight set on finishing at the top of the leaderboard.
“I’m hoping for top three, but I would like to make it into the top 25 to make it to the awards ceremony,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s mother, Geyser Road Elementary Reading AIS instructor Dana Bush, adds that his favorite hobby runs in the family.
“Both my husband and I are runners, so growing up Ryan saw us doing it. We never pushed him to do it. It was his passion. From the time he started walking, he was running. He’s loved it ever since,” said Dana.
“I was involved with the Junior Olympics when I was a little girl and we thought it would be a great way to get him his start in this sport because he was so interested.”
Dana and her husband both competed locally for the Shenendehowa High School track and field team, also attending Providence College together and competing collegiately.
It wasn’t long before Dana noticed that her son’s hobby was catching on with his classmates at the school.
“Last year he started showing an interest in running, and he got his whole class to do races on the playground which made me consider starting a running club.”
This did eventually lead to her starting a running club at the school, which is divided into two groups. Fourth and fifth graders run together, while the overwhelming response from the third grade – Dana says 25 of Ryan’s classmates signed up - dictated they have their own separate group entirely.
“I started the running club just this year, and we had an overwhelming amount of students who wanted to join. So I alternate every week from third graders and fourth and fifth graders. We may expand it next year because there has been a lot of interest.”
Ryan has been scoping out his competition online, determining what kind of time will be required in order to meet his top-25 ambitions. He takes pride in being more or less self-taught, competing – and beating – other kids practicing specifically for these races.
“Lots of kids are in track clubs and compete in state meets and I’m not, so I’m kind of proud of myself.”
Ryan adds that he considers himself a distance runner, preferring to run mile-long or 2K courses. Chances are you might even see him running if you visit Spa State Park.
“I like to run in [Spa State Park] and also the golf course close to our house. Sometimes I run on a track,” said Ryan.
While he appears to be a very talented runner, his mother keeps things in perspective, adding that she’d prefer her son to do what he likes rather than push him to compete past being interested.
“I don’t want to get him to a point where he’s doing too much, too early and gets burnt out. We’re doing it for fun now and we’ll get serious when he’s older – if he’s still into it.”
Despite his talent and success, Ryan really does seem to just run for the love of it.
“I like it because it’s fun to do and I’m really good at it,” he added.
