CIU Today Summer 2016

Running Hard for the Lord

Couple makes CIU athletics history

As freshmen, Blake Tindle and Raena Hannink were at the

“starting line” when cross country was introduced as one of the

first intercollegiate sports at Columbia International University

in 2012. Four years later the two reflect on their experience in

the following exchange with CIU Today.

How does it feel to have “set the pace” for CIU cross

country over the last four years?

Blake:

It is an amazing feeling and an honor to have had

the privilege to wear the uniform of CIU, to have had the

opportunity to compete for the name of this school on courses

all over the East Coast. It is humbling to think that we built this

program and wherever it may go from here it started with us.

Raena:

Being a four-year cross country athlete is the hardest

and most rewarding thing I have ever done. It has not been

easy to start a new program. I am so excited to see where the

program will go next!

What is a memorable moment in your CIU cross country

career?

Blake:

In my junior year, we qualified for Nationals as a team.

My goal that year had been to qualify with an individual time,

but I had fallen short in the regular season. On race day at

Houghton College in New York, it was 19 degrees with a

winter weather advisory. The five-mile race was amazing for

me because I went out faster than I had ever had before and

was passing people for the first two miles. In the third mile,

I was told that I was on pace to hit a personal record. I sped

up the last two miles, and in the last 800 meter straightaway,

huge wind gusts blew snow in my face, and white-out snow

conditions blurred my surroundings – except for the finish line

and the time clock. It showed 29:19 as I crossed the finish line, a

personal best.

Raena:

The most memorable moment was our Regional race at

Southern Wesleyan this past season. It was my goal to race well

enough to be an All-Region athlete, which means you finish in

the top 15 for your region. During the race, Coach Jud Brooker

would yelled out who I needed to pass at each point to move

up the ranks. Instead of giving in to my fatigue, I remember

trusting Coach, pushing through, and passing the right number

of girls when he would tell me to. In the last 300 meters, Coach

yelled out that I needed to pass three more girls to be All-

Region. I was so exhausted, but as I looked ahead, the third

girl in front of me was a runner who I had been trying to beat

the previous season. With new motivation, I raced ahead to the

finish, passed her in the last 10 feet of the race, and collapsed

into the arms of my teammate Alexis Zwilling.

What has God taught you through your cross country

experience?

Blake:

Running is such a demanding sport, but it is a sport that

is so relatable to life. This sport has taught me the skills of hard

work, determination and the will to never give up and to push

through anything that is placed before me. In addition, it has

augmented my prayer life. When I would get to the back side

of a course and there was no one there to yell encouragements

or tell me how I was doing, the only thing I could do was turn to

God and ask for help to make it through. When I feel like there

is nothing in me left to give, I have seen that God will help me

make it through, and I will hold on to that the rest of my life.

Raena:

God has taught me over and over again about His

faithfulness. He is the only one able to sustain me and give me

strength and a purpose. He reminded me of His goodness with

stunning sunrises to enjoy during our countless 6 a.m. practices.

He taught me about strength and endurance through Him

every time I wanted to give up on a workout or a race, usually

by giving me a teammate or coach to help me through the hard

times. He reminded me that He is capable of providing for me

and pulling me through every time I collapsed during or after

a run. He has shown me again and again that if I rely on Him to

sustain me through my cross country training, I can then rely on

Him to sustain me in all other parts of my life.

Blake Tindle and Raena Hannink are

engaged. Their wedding date is Dec. 22.

Photo by CAM North Photography

ATHLETICS

CIU Today