Hello Everyone!
My name is Marissa Kuik and no words can describe how excited I am to serve as the part-time editor and writer for MileSplit Colorado! I have grown to love the running scene here and am excited to bring some energy and excitement to one of the more incredible states in the whole country when it comes to cross country and track.
I can say that Colorado is one of the best, because I originally grew up in Minnesota and went to college in Iowa for my Bachelors' Degree in History. I competed in cross country and track and field from 4th grade all the way to my senior year of high school for a tiny school in Andover, Minnesota.
I then went on to another small college (a trend, I know) and competed for three years for Waldorf University. I was an NAIA All-American in cross country and competed in a couple national track and field meets in the 10k. I decided to graduate early and move on to another school, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where I earned my Masters' Degree in History and ran cross country and track for the Mountain Lions.
My last year of competing for UCCS, I started coaching at Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy in Colorado Springs and my love for high school sports in Colorado blossomed. Being a coach definitely reminded me of the dedication and love I had for the sport when I was in high school, but the level of dedication and love for this sport is definitely unmatched compared to what I experienced.
With this being my fourth year of coaching, I have definitely spent a fair share of time on the MileSplit page and cannot be more excited to continue to shed light on all the hard work Colorado athletes put into this sport.
Before coming on to MileSplit, I spent three years analyzing Division Two and NAIA cross country and track for The Stride Report, so I will be taking those skills I have learned and applying them to MileSplit. Along with the normal content, I am hoping to bring more analysis, more meet previews, more predictions during championship season, and to just bring attention to the stories of those who are making a difference in the sport, whether on or off the track.
All in all, I am grateful I get to be a part of this team and cannot wait to get started!
All the best,
Marissa Kuik