Austin Kuehr has traveled halfway across the equator, all on foot. A 2014 graduate and current University of Illinois athlete, Kuehr has run a total of 11,000 miles in his running career. To add more perspective, it is the same distance from New York to Hawaii round trip, and he’s still on the move.

“Personally, I think ‘obsession’ is an understatement,” Kuehr said. “When I mention to others that I am a runner and enjoy competing in cross country, track, and road races, they think I am insane, and I cannot really blame them either; running is not quite a favorite sport for everyone.”

But running did not instantly become an obsession for Kuehr. Like other athletes, Kuehr was introduced to his sport by his older brother and his dad, runners themselves. He finally decided to follow in the footsteps of his family and gave running a try, Kuehr said.

Like Kuehr, Laura McNair, senior cross country and track athlete, was also suggested the idea of joining cross country by her older brother. But Matt Schwartz, freshman, influenced by none of his siblings, just “wanted to try something new.”

“[When I started, in middle school] I didn’t really have middle school goals, just to have fun mostly,” Schwartz said. “I never really became dedicated until the summer of freshman year.”

Becoming dedicated includes making goals to guide your way to success. Running influences your everyday decisions, from getting enough sleep, to eating healthy, according to JB Hanson, boys’ cross country and track and field coach.

“If you have specific goals, then the actions you take should determine those goals. It just turns out that in running, a lot of the decisions that you make outside of running have an affect on how you run,” Hanson said.

Setting his goals has helped Schwartz to set and envision his goals for the next couple years of his high school career.

Schwartz started running on June 10, 2013 and has not stopped since. He has run a total of 1,354 miles for 547 straight days, in all types of weather and personal health. This continuous routine has fueled his hobby of running to become a daily routine and started his passion to run and to become a better athlete.

“My greatest accomplishment so far has been my CD [consecutive days] of running. It means so much to me because it is not something  everyone can say they [have],” Schwartz said.

Your goals can determine how you perform in practice and whether you place in competition, McNair said. She said that taking steps towards your goals include paying more attention to your daily routine, which helps you focusing on what is the most important for success.

“I gave up junk food like pop, dessert, and fast food,” McNair said. “You have to do the little things right, which included properly fueling and resting your body. If I think that anything will negatively impact my performance, I just avoid it.”

Running everyday and having certain eating habits may cause others to assume that runners are obsessed with the sport, Hanson said. The boys’ cross country team believes in the quote ‘Everyday is a great day,’ meaning that if you want to be good at something, you do it everyday.

Many people could assume that runners are obsessed with the sport, said JB Hanson, boys’ cross country and track and field coach. Anytime anyone becomes goal oriented, their vision is determined by what their goals are, and may seem like they are “obsessed” or “addicted.”

“People sometimes refer to it as an obsession because it takes control of everything in their lives,” Hanson said.  “That’s just because they have these goals and they know they make other decisions that won’t prohibit them from running. I think that anyone who is goal oriented can achieve any endeavor.”