Women's Cross Country | 01/25/2022

National Girls and Women in Sport Day - Minnesota Website

Time often has a way of changing one's perspective on things.
 
Just ask Robin Balder-Lanoue, who first took over as the head cross country coach at the College of Saint Benedict 25 years ago – in the fall of 1997.
 
"I was 27 when I started here, and when I was a young coach, I remember thinking that I couldn't wait until I got older because it would mean the athletes would respect me more," said Balder-Lanoue, herself a 1991 CSB graduate and a standout in both cross country and track and field.
 
After returning to her alma mater as the interim cross country coach, she then spent the 1998 season as an assistant coach in track and field before adding head coaching duties in that sport to her portfolio in 1999.
 
"But now that I'm older, I find there are times when I miss those younger days," she said with a smile. "I wish I could be out there running with them like I was back then. I still run with them sometimes, but only on their easy days.
 
"So it's funny how you tend to think about things differently as the years go on."
 
But while a few things may have changed over the years, what hasn't is both the success Balder-Lanoue's teams have achieved and the admiration the athletes she coaches hold for her.
 
She has now guided the Bennie cross country team to a top-ten finish regionally in 17 of the past 25 years. Meanwhile, in track and field, her teams have finished in the top five in 10 of the last 13 indoor conference meets and eight of the last 11 outdoor MIAC championships. She has been named MIAC indoor coach of the year three times and outdoor coach of the year twice.
 
It is for those reasons – and many, many more – that Balder-Lanoue has been chosen as one of the recipients of this year's Breaking Barriers Award.
 
She will be recognized along with other influential figure in girls and women's sports from around Minnesota as part of the state's celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day in a ceremony scheduled for Feb. 2 at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
 
"It means a lot to me," Balder-Lanoue said of the award. "Sometimes I wonder if I've done enough to get this. But it's an honor. It's incredibly humbling.
 
Margy Hughes, who began in the physical education department at CSB in 1966 and went on to become the chair of the joint department at CSB and Saint John's University before her retirement in 2003, will also be honored with the Marie Berg Education Award at the event.
 
"I came in here thinking I'd help Saint Bens for a little while, then leave," said Balder-Lanoue, who after her college graduation had been teaching at Monticello High School where she also served as the head girls Nordic ski coach and an assistant coach in both track and field and cross country from 1991-96.
 
"I was the interim cross country coach at first. But then they created a full-time position to be the head coach in both cross country and track. I didn't know if I wanted to give up teaching. But it was Margy who told me I should apply for it. So I gave it a shot, figuring that if I got it, that would tell me where I was supposed to be.
 
"Margy has had such a big impact on me, so it's really amazing to find myself being honored alongside her like this."
 
Those whom she's coached over the years will tell you Balder-Lanoue has made a big impact on a whole lot of lives herself.
 
"She deserves the Breaking Barriers Award for her dedication and fearlessness," said Missy Petersen Trenz '98, an All-American in both track and cross country who as a senior was part of Balder-Lanoue's first cross country team at the school.
 
She has gone on to become her teammate on the Baba Yaga relay running team, which has had great success at numerous competitions across the country over the years – including a first-place finish at the Ragnar Wasatch Back in Utah in 2019, as well as top finishes at the Hood to Coast Relay (spanning over 200 miles) in Oregon.
 
"She gives 110 percent to her athletes and teammates. She's a problem solver and she's never backed down from a challenge. She inspires people to set high goals and take risks."
 
Those sentiments were echoed by Leah Wurm Scirto '06, a two-time All-American in cross country and a standout in track and field. Like Petersen Trenz, she is a member of the CSB Hall of Fame.
 
"She's an amazing coach and the enthusiasm she brings to her job is contagious," Wurm Scirto said. "You can tell she really and truly cares about the athletes she coaches and their success.
 
"She did so much to encourage me and make me a better runner. I really learned a lot from her."
 
Fiona Smith, a current standout in both cross country and track and field, said the story remains the same these days.
 
"It's so comforting to know I can go to Robin with more than just my running-related questions and concerns," said Smith,  who earned All-American honors as a first-year last spring when she finished fifth overall in the women's 5,000-meter run at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field meet.
 
She continued that momentum as a sophomore in cross country last fall, placing fifth overall at the Division III national meet – the highest finish for a CSB runner at nationals since Petersen Trenz finished third in 1994 and the first All-American finish in the program since Wurm Scirto in 2005.
 
"I'm fairly confident in saying that there are a very limited number of coaches who will keep several stopwatches around their neck and wrists to personally time our workouts and give splits in races and also are able to run with us a lot of times," Smith added. "This is a sign of her true passion for the sport.
 
"Robin believes in each of us more than we believe in ourselves at times. She'll help us establish goals that might seem impossible when first hearing them, but by trusting the process of training and listening to our bodies, she knows we can and will reach those goals. And somehow, those seemingly impossible goals are achieved."
 
Balder-Lanoue said it is those athletes she's been lucky enough to work with over the years that make her job so rewarding.
 
"4:15 p.m. (when practice starts) has always been my favorite time of day throughout the course of these 25 years," she said. "There's always so much energy. They say coaching keeps you young. You have to be just to keep up with them."
 
And she has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
 
"I'm coaching the whole year between cross country, indoor and outdoor track," she said. "And I do get tired by the time spring is done. But every year when August rolls around (and cross country starts), I'm excited and ready to get started again.
 
"And as long as I feel that way, I'm going to keep coaching."