Blue Devil Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Hill

Name – Ryan Hill
UW-Stout graduation year – 2000
Major – Applied Mathematics
Sport(s) – Cross Country, Track & Field
Years Played – 1995-2000
Hometown (High School) – Chetek, WI (Chetek High)
Currently Reside – Slinger, WI

Give us a brief synopsis of your life since graduating from UW-Stout, include job and family?
I have been working in IT at Quad Graphics in Sussex, WI since graduating. I write programs that allow decision makers to analyze large volumes of data and make business decisions based on them.

I also coach adult runners, primarily marathon runners, which is a very fulfilling pursuit and give something back to the sport that has given me so much.

In my personal life, I have a wonderful wife of 11 years, Lisa, who continues to support me in all ways, including my continued running and coaching pursuits. I also have a 9 year old daughter, Shayla.
 

Why did you choose to be a collegiate student-athlete at UW-Stout?
My school choice was largely driven by academics. However, I also wanted to keep competing. I met Coach Hall during my campus visit and he seemed like a coach who would welcome me onto the team, even though I didn't have the long list of athletic accomplishments that many collegiate athletes have coming out of high school. I also felt he would fit my personality well.

What did you like most about competing in collegiate athletics? 
It's hard to pick just one thing. However, my teammates were amazing. We had a team chemistry that seemed to be different than the other WIAC teams. I still say our team was like family.

What is the greatest lesson you learned from being a collegiate student-athlete?
Persistence and hard work pay off. I wasn't the greatest athlete on the team. The one thing I had going for me is that I could train incredibly hard without getting injured and the results of that hard work, while not making me All American material, were significant.

Who was the most influential person in your athletic career?
All of the coaches I've worked directly with have been so critical to who I've become as an athlete. I can't name just one. From my high school coaches to Coach Hall at Stout, all have played a significant role in shaping not just my athletic life but also my life outside of running.

What is your most memorable or favorite sports moment at UW-Stout? 
Conference in Oshkosh my senior cross country season is the race I most frequently find myself thinking back on. In part because I see the course at least a few times a year but also because we came together as a team to outperform expectations. People don't think of cross country as a team sport but I remember finding Ethan Webinger about a half mile into the race and we worked together to work our way up through the field. It wasn't just Ethan, though. The whole team worked together, in pairs or larger groups, and it seemed like almost everyone had an outstanding day.

How did your teammates describe you as a person and a student-athlete?
Quiet, shy, introverted. I wasn't an outgoing person. I didn't go to many parties. I wasn't outspoken.As a student athlete, I suppose they described me as focused and hard working. I pushed myself pretty hard both academically and athletically.

Are you in contact with any former Blue Devil student-athletes? (If so, who?)
I attempt to make it up to Menomonie for the cross country Jamie Block Alumni meet every year, though it gets harder with school schedules. I keep up to date, mostly through Facebook, with alumni from the time I was running and have found some alumni from both before and after I was at Stout through Facebook. Locally, I still see Tim King at Milwaukee area races occasionally.

Outside of athletics, what other activities were you involved in at UW-Stout?
Mostly, I was focused on school and running. I also worked at the tutor center.

You have continued to run after college, how is running different now?
With a family and a full time job, it obviously fits a different part of my life. It's not as big of a priority but it is still important to me.
I still compete and push myself to do my best but running is so much more now for me. I always appreciated running as a healthy pursuit and a stress relief but I appreciate those aspects so much more now.

You manage a running blog, what inspires you to do that?
The running community has given so much to me. I started the website while I was still at Stout because I wanted to give something back. My biggest hope is to help as many runners as possible accomplish their goals and learn more about themselves through running.

On your running blog there is a section on former teammate and friend Jamie Block and his story.  How is that important to you?
As I mentioned, we had a special team that seemed to be closer than other teams we would see around the WIAC. Jamie was a special person even on this team who brought people together. He not only fit well on our close team but served a role in making the bonds between teammates even stronger.