Junior distance runner Caroline Collet has been running as long as she can remember.

Her parents are both runners, and her siblings, Carina and Christopher, are even in on the family hobby.

Collet said she ran her first 5-kilometer race at 8 years old, prompting her to join the track and field team at Mazon-Verona-Kinsman Junior High in fifth grade.

“In middle school I ran the mile, and I thought I was pretty good, but I’m from a pretty small school,” Collet said.

In high school, she joined the cross country team where she learned the value of working hard as a team. Collet said her proudest moment in cross country came during her senior year when the team won conference, and she took home an individual title.

However, Collet said she never made it past sectionals in cross-country, but this minor setback allowed her to become a better athlete, she said.

Although she was nearly tired of the sport she is still so passionate about, Collet said she felt motivated to run in college and worked to prove to herself that she could be competitive at Eastern.

“When I got to EIU everything changed,” Collet said.  “Running became very difficult because I was not accustomed to the volume and the intensity, but I loved being part of the team so much that I stuck around and just tried to get better at everything.  I found my niche when I started training for steeplechase.”

Collet said she is redshirting for the indoor season but still competes unattached. She said she will come into the outdoor season prepared for the steeplechase and stronger than ever before.

After the cross-country season, Collet said she had to take time off to recapture what it means to run and work hard while maintaining a balance in her life.

Collet cited her siblings and mother as her biggest motivators and cheerleader. Collet said her mother always knows the right thing to say and she is always telling Collet to “get out the door and just enjoy the run.”

Outside of cross-country and track and field, Collet’s passion is enveloped in theatre. She is a Theatre Arts major with an emphasis in performance.

“I love it so much and it has saved my life so many times. Theatre is about creating art to make people feel less alone in the world, and if I can do that for people the way other theatre people have done for me, I will have found my purpose,” Collet said.

She is also a member of Eastern’s acapella group and loves to read plays, memorize lines, and sing musical theatre tunes.

Collet said she has received the best advice from several people in every corner of her life, from sports to arts.

“The best advice I›ve ever received has been given to me by several people iterated in different ways, but it boils down to: You are the main character in the story of your life, and if you want to change something, you have the power to do that, and even if it doesn›t happen overnight, if you keep working at it, you will make it happen,” Collet said.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or krcordes@eiu.edu.