ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - College of Saint Benedict cross country coach Robin Balder-Lanoue has spent three decades inspiring Bennie athletes and sharing her passion for the sport. 

 

But she had a mentor of her own as a junior high student in the early 1980s.

 

His name was Tom Keating, a longtime teacher in Foley, then later a counselor at Monticello High School. 

 

"In seventh grade, I was playing volleyball," recalled Balder-Lanoue, who grew up on a Benton County dairy farm near Foley. "But he was the one who convinced me to give cross country a try. He was the coach at the time and talked me into it. The funny thing was that by the time I came out the next year, he wasn't coaching it anymore.  

 

"But he'd still stop me in the hallway and ask me how it was going. He was someone who really cared about people. Later on, he ended up as a teacher and counselor at Monticello when I was there (as a math teacher) so I got to teach alongside him for a time." 

 

Keating, who also developed workshops focused on issues like leadership, creating positive spaces and chemical health, passed away at only age 57 in 2006 following injuries sustained in a car accident. 

 

But the seeds he planted continue to inspire Balder-Lanoue as she prepares to begin her 30th season at the helm of the CSB cross country program. 

 

"I still get so excited to watch athletes start to see in themselves what I see in them," said Balder-Lanoue, whose team opens the 2026 campaign by taking part in the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Rustbuster meet at 9 a.m. (CDT) Saturday (Sept. 5) at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs.  

 

"It's really something special to see the growth that occurs over the course of their four years here. It seems like they go from first-years to sophomores to juniors to seniors in the blink of an eye. But the way their confidence grows in that time, and they're able to find their voice and be authentic to who they are, is just incredible. 

 

"And that's something I get to watch happen every year. How could I not be excited about having that chance to do that?" 

 

But when Balder-Lanoue first took on the job at CSB back in 1997, she didn't necessarily know she was embarking on her lifetime's calling. 

 

The former Bennie All-MIAC distance runner was still teaching mathematics in Monticello at the time and completing work on her master's degree. Even after she added head coaching duties in track and field two years later, a move that required leaving teaching behind, she still didn't know if she'd found her permanent path. 

 

"I figured maybe I'd do this five years, then go back to teaching," Balder-Lanoue recalled. "Then it became 10 years. But after a while, it became clear this is what I was meant to do." 

 

And she's done it very well over the decades.  

 

In cross country alone, Balder-Lanoue's runners have earned All-MIAC distinction 29 times and honorable mention honors 25. They've earned all-region status on 40 occasions and All-American honors on five. 

 

That last grouping includes Fiona Smith, who finished as NCAA Division III national runner-up in 2022 and won a national title the following year. 

 

"Athletically, I certainly achieved more than I ever thought possible thanks to Robin," said Smith, who also won five national titles in track and field under Balder-Lanoue's tutelage.  

 

"She gave me opportunities I could have only dreamed of and put me in positions of success as a result of her dedication, care and knowledge. Over my four years (at CSB), she took the time and effort to get to know me as a whole person, so she knew how to best show up for me at practice and at every meet. She knew when to push me, when I needed to be talked down, when I needed a hug, when I needed to be hyped up. 

 

"Her 30 years of experience have given her so much knowledge of the sport, and you can see the passion she has for running and watching her women grow and thrive in the same sport she loves so much." 

 

Though she didn't know what form it would ultimately take, Balder-Lanoue (whose teams have placed in the top eight at the Division III North Region meet on a dozen occasions, including four times in the top four) did catch the coaching bug early. 

 

"I'd had coaches and mentors (like Keating) who were really impactful in my life and I wanted to be that person for others," said Balder-Lanoue, who helped lead the Foley High School girls cross country team to state tournament berths as a junior in 1985 and as a senior the following year when the Falcons finished second overall in Class A. 

 

"Even as far back as my junior year in high school, I knew I wanted to serve others and help people fall in love with this sport the way I had." 

 

But before leading other runners, Balder-Lanoue had a successful collegiate career herself in cross country and track and field at CSB from 1987-91. 

 

"This is a story I tell a lot of recruits, but I was looking at two schools - both two hours away from home," she said. "I visited each of them twice. But I'd always had Saint Ben's in the back of my mind as a place it would be a dream to go to. 

 

"I just didn't think it was a place I'd be able to afford. But I ended up visiting here after I got my FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) back in the spring of my senior year and it looked like it might be affordable after all. I decided to come, but I had no idea how a farm girl like me was going to fit in at a private school. I'd never experienced a place like this. But then I got out here, and I met people like (former volleyball coach and athletic director) Carol Howe-Veenstra, (basketball coach) Mike Durbin and (longtime softball coach) Denny Johnson. They knew who I was and how my cross country team had done at state. They made me feel right at home. 

 

"It was just such a genuine group of human beings on this campus," she continued. "I always felt like Saint Ben's was big enough to make an impact on me, but small enough that I could make an impact on it as well." 

 

Which is why Balder-Lanoue was excited to volunteer as an assistant cross country coach under head coach Ellen Carpenter during the 1996 season – even if it meant driving to campus every day after completing work in Monticello, where she had also been an assistant coach in cross country and track and field and helped start a Nordic ski program. 

 

Carpenter, though, had decided to step down and Balder-Lanoue quickly became the heir apparent. 

 

"(Former CSB and SJU physical education department chair) Margy Hughes was the one who talked me into applying," Balder-Lanoue remembered.  "I wasn't sure it was something I wanted to take on because I was pretty happy teaching. But I love this program and I wanted to see it succeed. I knew teaching would always be there if I wanted to go back. People are always looking for math teachers. So I decided to give it a shot." 

 

And her debut season could not have gone any better. Led by runners like Missy Petersen and Moriya McGovern, the Bennies advanced to the Division III national meet as a team for just the second time, finishing 12th overall in the competition held at Franklin Park in Boston. 

 

It marked the highest finish at nationals in program history. 

 

"Part of what makes Robin such a great coach is that she's an incredible athlete and competitor herself," said Peterson (now Missy Trenz), an All-American at CSB who, like many of Balder-Lanoue's former athletes, has gone on to join her as part of Baba Yaga, an all-women running team she started in 1996 which has competed at a relay event every year since. 

 

"It's easy to put trust in someone who has done the work themselves.  Also, she fully supports her athletes as people, not just in running. She is authentic about pouring her heart into helping others become their best.   

 

"As I get older, I'm in even more awe of her as an athlete and what she's continued to achieve. She's also just a fun person to hang out with. I look forward to our Baba Yaga weekend every year. I'm so grateful to have her for my coach and friend." 

 

That sentiment is shared by many of the athletes Balder-Lanoue has coached and impacted during her time at CSB. 

 

"Robin taught me how to be in the moment and make every person feel like the most important person in the room," said Manon Gammon-Deering (now Manon Kuzara), an All-MIAC performer for the Bennies in 2013 and '14 and a national qualifier in track and field. "One way she demonstrated this was her expectation that we must say goodbye to her before we leave practice. That way she was guaranteed a personal connection with each athlete every day. She made us all feel seen and noticed - like it was important that we were there.  

 

"She expected us to set everything else aside when we were at practice and just be present there. This is something she explicitly taught us and a strategy I use frequently in my own life with my own students, athletes, and now children.  

 

"Robin taught me how to build strong relationships and positive environments through her loving, passionate and consistent example. These lessons have followed me into every component of my adult life - teaching, coaching, educational administration and now motherhood. I'm so grateful to have been mentored and influenced by such a strong, empowered woman who has made a career of empowering other women." 

 

Coaching is a big part of the Balder-Lanoue household. Her husband Bruce Balder-Lanoue – whom she met while teaching in Monticello – is a longtime coach at the high school level in that community. 

 

"We coach very different sports," Balder-Lanoue said of Bruce, who had a successful run as the head boys basketball coach at Monticello and is now an assistant in girls basketball. "I used to joke he had the glory sports since he coached football, basketball and golf. But we do a lot of bouncing ideas off one another. If he sees or reads something, he'll share it with me. The best part is that both of us had the chance to follow our passions over the years and I think that's an important thing in any relationship. 

 

"We were both math teachers when we met. I was at the high school and Bruce was at the middle school. When I left to come to Saint Ben's full-time, he moved over to the high school to take my place. He likes to joke he didn't have big shoes to fill since I only wear a size six-and-a-half." 

 

But while her shoe size might be small, the size of the legacy she has already created at CSB is not. 

 

And Balder-Lanoue isn't done yet. Though she has now moved into an assistant coaching role under new CSB head track and field coach Sarah Oprondek, who started this summer, she said she still loves leading the cross country program and doesn't plan to step away anytime soon. 

 

"It's funny because I used to look at colleagues of mine who did this job for 40 years and wonder how that was possible," she said. "But the bottom line is I still get just as excited as ever when a new season starts. I still feel so blessed to get the chance to work with these athletes. 

 

"When that feeling goes away, I'll know it's time for me to be done. But so far, I don't see any signs of that happening."