SEATTLE — Finishing 40th in a cross country race might not seem like a great accomplishment. But for Tyler King, a 2011 graduate of Coupeville High School, 40 was the magic number at last November’s NCAA Division 1 Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
King, then a junior, was competing in his first nationals for the University of Washington. He was about 45th midway through the 10,000-meter race, and UW coaches in various places around the course were urging him to move up and get into the top 40, the threshold for All-America recognition.
As the finish line came into view, King knew he was close. With about 150 yards to go he was chasing one last runner, and with a strong surge he managed to slip by and then hold on, beating the other runner by about a second.
A nervous wait followed. But 10 minutes later it was announced that King had indeed finished 40th, becoming one of two UW All-Americans in 2014.
“It was kind of surreal,” said King, recalling the emotions of that day. “You work hard for eight or 10 years toward some end and you’re not quite sure what that end is going to be. … But when you put your whole self into something — your heart, your soul and everything — good things happen.”
UW coach Greg Metcalf broke the news, “and to tell him he was top 40 and to see his reaction, that was a great moment for a young man, a great moment for a coach and a great moment for a program.”
Given the many hundreds of collegiate cross country runners every year, “being one of the top 40 is a huge deal,” Metcalf added. “Yes, it’s signified by a piece of paper, but it’s a tremendous honor and testament to everything that goes into being a great collegiate distance runner. … A lot of guys are capable of (being an All-American), but very few actually manage it.”
King started running in middle school, taking after older sister Brianne and older brother Kyle, who had also been distance runners. In high school Tyler King went to state four times in both cross country and track (because Coupeville did not have a cross country team, he ran for nearby Oak Harbor his first three years), and he won Class 1A state track championships as a junior in the 1,600 and 3,200, and in cross country as a senior.
King took college recruiting visits to Washington, Portland, Boise State and Colorado, and he chose the Huskies largely because of his relationships with Metcalf and assistant coach Jason Drake.
“I just really hit it off with them,” King explained. “With the energy they brought and the connection we had, I just felt like I was going to be successful. In cross country, one of the most important things is the connection you have with your coach, and I felt like I’d have that here.”
Under the guidance of Metcalf and Drake, and with a lot of hard work, King began showing significant improvement. By his third year in cross country (he was a sophomore in eligibility, having redshirted as a freshman) he finished 22nd at the Pacific-12 Conference championships.
“That was exciting,” he said. “At that moment it was like, ‘OK, what I’m doing is working.’”
Still, there were sometimes difficult days, too. Midway through last season he was lagging enough that Metcalf called him in for a heart-to-heart chat.
“I knew what Tyler was capable of doing … and he wasn’t doing the things I believed he could,” Metcalf said. “So I said, ‘You can be better. You can train harder. You can take better care of yourself and take better care of your world.’ … He’d got off course a little bit, so we sat down and I challenged him.”
That conversation “helped me become more purposeful in everything I did,” King said. “I took care of my schooling so that when it came to training I wasn’t stressed out about school. And I made sure I got enough sleep. Everything in my life became a lot more purposeful that it’d been.”
The new approach was soon paying off. King finished 12th at the Pac-12 championships and went on to an All-America finish at nationals.
As he heads into the new season, King has ambitious goals for himself and his team. Though “I’d obviously love to be an All-American again, I’m at my best when I’m invested in something that’s bigger than myself,” he said. “And I’m better when I’m investing in our team.”
If the Huskies qualify for nationals again, “and if I could be our fifth guy and finish in 41st place, I’d be more happy about that than being our second guy and finishing in 40th place. I’d rather be holding a big (team) trophy than a little (individual) medal,” he said.
Wanting the best for his last collegiate cross country season, King has boosted his training from 80-85 miles a week a year ago to 85-90 miles a week this year. He runs seven days a week, sometimes twice a day, and the regimen leaves little times for anything else beyond school and sleep.
And, yes, those workouts take a physical toll. “I joke that I limp 22 hours a day, and the two hours when I’m not limping are the two hours when I’m running,” he said. “Walking down the stairs the morning after a hard workout is the worst.
“Honestly, if I didn’t love it, it’d be really hard. It’s hard to put in the amount of work it takes to be successful if you’re not enjoying the training itself, and I think a lot of college kids struggle with that. Part of (being successful) is just enjoying the process.”
Indeed, as King has proven, and as Metcalf likewise understands and appreciates, every great accomplishment begins with a great attitude.
“Tyler’s a hard-working, blue-collar kid,” Metcalf said. “He’s had some ups and downs … but I love how hard he’s worked. He’s a great competitor and a great young man, and I love everything about him.”
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