The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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December 11, 2005

Living the dream

West grad pursues dream from back of Nike truck

By Jim Rueda

MANKATO — Keenan Robbins may turn out to be one of the lucky ones. If things continue to move in the direction they’re going, Robbins just might be able to turn his passion into his life’s work.

For Robbins, that passion is running.

The 21-year-old Mankato native is a graduate of Mankato West High School. He had a solid cross country career for the Scarlets but, despite a lack of scholarship offers, he decided after graduation to follow his dream and move West to try to run at the Division I level in college.

He wound up at the University of Colorado and made the team as a walk on. If this was Hollywood, the rest of the story would have Robbins blossoming into a national caliber runner and then going on to win an Olympic gold medal for his country. But this is Mankato and things did not unfold quite that way.

Robbins battled an assortment of injuries for the first two years of his collegiate career and was never more than a fringe runner for the Huskies. Among other things, he was diagnosed as anemic and twice had hernia surgery.

But just when he was about to give up on his dream, another opportunity presented itself. It seems Nike was looking for some enthusiastic guys who would be willing to drive around the country to talk to high-school aged kids about distance running.

It would be dubbed the Long Haul Tour 2005 and, according to coordinator Douglas Raggio, the drivers would be charged with “crisscrossing the country to spread the running gospel. The tour was sort of a throwback to the 1970s when Nike’s first designer, Geoff Hollister, used to drive around the country selling shoes out of the back of his car to pay for gas.

In the current incarnation of the Long Haul Tour, drivers not only visit high schools but also make stops at some of the premier running events in the nation. Naturally, updating kids on the latest Nike products is also part of the drivers’ agenda.

To make a long story short, Robbins’ coach at Colorado asked Robbins if he might be interested in becoming one of the drivers. Although it meant taking the fall semester off of school, Robbins jumped at the chance.

He was assigned the Midwest route and has been taking his colorful Nike truck around Minnesota and the surrounding states since early September. He figures he’s put about 20,000 miles on the truck since his tour started and, except for one flat tire, says things have gone smoothly.

The Nike trucks are outfitted with educational tools, televisions, barbecue grills and shoes — lots and lots of shoes.

“It’s just been great,” he said. “Sure, there are times when you get tired of driving but knowing you’re going to meet a bunch of kids who are as enthusiastic about running as you are at the next stop keeps the adrenaline flowing. I love talking about running with kids.”

When he addresses the high schoolers, Robbins usually discusses everything from training techniques to year-round running to how to avoid burnout. He’s been doing it nonstop for the last three-plus months.

“I’m having a blast. The kids have really motivated me. They’ve re-lit my fire for the sport.

“Running is my priority right now. I’m sure my parents would rather hear me say college is my priority but running is truly my first love.”

Robbins recently attended Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., and the prestigious Footlocker Meet in San Diego. While there, he was able to re-connect with a lot of kids and teams he met during his trek throughout the Midwest.

Up next is a return to Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore, where he will participate in a number of meetings about the tour and how it can be improved. He’s hoping his future employment with Nike will also be discussed.

“I still have about two or three semesters left of college but, if I could land a job with Nike that would be great. The next logical step would be for me to be a tech rep, where I would work in conjunction with a lot of sales reps in different parts of the country.

“I’d still be able to get out there and talk to people involved in grass roots running. I can’t think of anything I’d love doing more.”

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