VYPE: What are your goals for this season?
Blake: My goals this season are to just be the best person I can be on and off the track. I also want to get better in my 800m so I can help perform for my 4×8 team.
VYPE: What has track taught you that you use in your daily life?
Blake: Running has taught me to be prepared for anything that can happen in my daily life, just like a race anything can happen at any given moment.
VYPE: Who is your favorite teacher from any grade and why?
Blake: My favorite teacher I’ve had is my show choir teacher (Mark Johnson). He is the girls distance coach as well, and me and him have made a great friendship over the year and a half we’ve known each other.
VYPE: Who inspires you and why?
Blake: Eliud Kipchoge is the man who inspires me. He has shown me and many other people around the world all of the things he can accomplish by just having a great mindset. I look back to the Boston Marathon this year and see the struggle he had in that race. Many people would’ve quit mid race, but Eliud pushed and still ran an amazing time.
VYPE: What teammate has left the biggest impression on you and why?
Blake: The teammate that has left the biggest impression on me was Johnny Ylitalo. He has been the most kind, caring person I’ve met and he will always support you no matter what has happened. I really respect him for that.
VYPE: What is your favorite part about being on a team?
Blake: My favorite part about being on a team is the bonds we build together. We laugh and we suffer together. Whenever we are going through a hard workout it feels good that I have others with me to support and build me up. I can also return the favor to them.
VYPE: You can pick any place for a summer vacation, where do you go and who do you take with you?
Blake: If I can pick any place I want to go and who I would take… This is a very hard question because I love all parts of the world, but I would probably have to choose London. I would take my friend, Hudson, because me and him have known each other for so long. I would love London with him because it is such a beautiful place with so much history.
VYPE: Why are you passionate about your sport?
Blake: I am passionate because running is a great way for me to help cope and feel better. Anytime I am down or having a bad day, practice will always make me feel better because of my team and coaches. I also love the thrill of putting myself through pain day after day to make myself a better person.
VYPE: Here is your chance to say hello, goodbye or thank you to anyone you wish. Blake: I would like to shout out to my coach (Coach Justin Declerck). He has been a big step and part of my running life, and if it weren’t for him I would probably be nowhere right now. He has taught me to be a better man in general and I can for sure say that my coach is a person I look up to. Thank you coach!
