As mercury drops, runners rise to outdoor challenge

Caleb VanderBaan, on the other hand, came to Northwestern from Lakewood, Calif. His experience with cold and snow was limited prior to his arrival on campus three years ago.

"My typical snow experience as a kid was maybe the three to four times our family would take a day trip to Big Mountain, which had snow sometimes," says VanderBaan.

So, it took some adjustment for VanderBaan, a distance runner for the Red Raider track team, to train with his teammates by running from November through February, outdoors.

Such are the realities of living and competing in Siouxland, a region where Old Man Winter still possesses ultimate control when it comes to high and low temperatures.

According to Sandbulte, running in a climate-controlled indoor environment just won't cut it. She calls the treadmill monotonous. Additionally, it doesn't simulate what she'll see in competition.

"It can be grueling running outside in the winter, but I've grown to like the challenge," says Sandbulte, a miler who also runs the 1,000-meter race and does steeplechase for the Red Raiders.

Competing in the steeplechase might warrant training on gravel roads in soupy, icy conditions.

"This winter has been a bit different as it's been so cold and blizzardy," says Sandbulte, a nursing major. "I'm careful to avoid semis and traffic. I've also had a history of bad shin splints, so I prefer running on gravel."

She slipped, but caught herself during a recent training run.

VanderBaan wasn't so lucky. He slipped and fell while running with the team on a gravel road. It still didn't keep him from keeping to his regimen of three or so outdoor runs every week, often completing a 4- to 9-mile trek.

VanderBaan, a future English teacher, who runs the 1K, 3K, 1,500 meters and 5K races for NWC, still says he's not used to the winter conditions of Sioux County. As a prep in Lakewood, which isn't far from Los Angeles, he'd wear long sleeves while training in temperatures around 50 degrees.

"Now, if it's 35 degrees, I'll only wear a shirt," he says.

While the cold takes a physical toll, there's something to putting mind over matter while training outdoors.

"You have to be mentally prepared for it, but you also must have the right equipment," VanderBaan says. "I came to Northwestern with jeans and shorts, that's it. I didn't have any sweatpants."

VanderBaan readies for a recent Friday afternoon run in his running tights, an article of clothing he calls "perfect" for the winter conditions of Orange City.

On Jan. 13, for example, VanderBaan wore tights and three layers for an early morning run of 3 miles. The temperature? Twelve degrees below zero.

"It may have been 12-below zero, but it wasn't windy," he says. "Last year we ran in wind chills of 20-below and that was worse."

Tuesday wasn't a bed of roses, either. VanderBaan says his eyelids froze during the run. The workout didn't just prepare him for the opening of the indoor season (Jan. 17 at Dordt College), it also gave him a few talking points.

"It's a good story to tell," he says.

In weather like that, Sandbulte says, she'll don a head band and a scarf. She'll also cover her legs in two layers and her upper body in three. Gloves are a must when the mercury drops.

All this training, even in the dead of winter, keeps Sandbulte from dropping once the competition begins.