By Greg Hexum

Recently, I got a chance to catch up with a good friend of TheDuluthRunner, Matt Welch.

If you’re new to Duluth-area running, Matt was the 2012 Minnesota State High School League State Cross Country Champion while at Proctor High School. He wasn’t just a good high school runner, he was the most dominant high school runner in the region in more than a decade, winning 9 of 9 races in his senior season in convincing fashion. He was one of the nation’s best high school runners.

Even as a 17 year old, there was a mystique around him. He was known for 90 mile training weeks which bolstered his aggressive front-running style. That starkly contrasted with his away-from-running laid back, chilled out style—-think long-haired musician, literally.

After high school, things changed. And, as is the case for many who are successful high school athletes, the changes weren’t all pretty.

Matt’s exemplary success as high school runner was rewarded with a University of Minnesota cross country and track and field scholarship and there were flashes of brilliance in his first few years as a Gopher. Mostly, however, Matt struggled. He missed out on key end-of-season races with repeated injuries and questioned his commitment to competitive running.

“It wasn’t just constant struggle with injuries that was wearing me down, it was a lack of joy that I felt in running,” said Welch in our recent phone conversation. “I loved being around the guys and the team, but I felt disconnected from the love of running I’d had as a high school athlete. There were many times I thought about leaving competitive running behind.”

While there may not have been a light switch moment, during the summer before his 4th year at Minnesota, things started to click. “I started doing more of what I liked to do, and less of what the prescribed training program called for.” What this meant for Welch was more miles, longer runs, and unprecedented fitness.

[Editors note: I was fortunate to be in a couple of long group runs with Matt during the summer of 2016. I recall a hot July morning with Welch who dropped in a casual 5:15 mile at the end of a 20 miler. Nobody in a group of strong runners even flinched to go with him. I remember thinking, “Matt Welch is going to dominate college cross country this fall.”]

What happened next is both a sign of Welch’s talent and the unfortunate tale of too many excellent collegiate runners. In summary, Matt began his redshirt junior season on fire. He was runner up at the Roy Griak Invitational, traditionally one of the nation’s most competitive early season meets. After this validating October race, where he beat several former NCAA All- Americans Welch was on the national collegiate cross country radar. He instantly became a Big Ten championship contender and a favorite for a high place at November’s nationals.

How painful it must have been when the wheels started to come off, again. Three weeks after his breakout performance, Matt finished 149th place at the University of Wisconsin’s Nuttycombe Invitational, and three weeks later, Welch was 109th place at the NCAA regional qualifier. Matt again joined the running-wounded—injured, ill, and emotionally broken. Track season was similarly disappointing with too few highlights, one being a new personal best at 5000 meters (14:16 at Drake Relays).

Despite the disappointments of the 2016-17 seasons, something important began to change for Matt. He began asking himself important life questions. Matt says he got some clarity about his priorities in running and life through his last season at the University of Minnesota.

“I began to ask myself why I run. How can I use the opportunities I have left in collegiate running to maximize my potential and reengage my passion?”

Even before his last race of the Big Ten track season, Matt knew he needed to move on. NCAA rules allow students who have earned their degree, which Matt did in May of 2017, to transfer without penalty or ineligibility to for their remaining year. While reluctantly leaving his teammates at the University of Minnesota, Welch decided to utilize the NCAA graduate transfer protocol for his remaining seasons of both cross country and track.

After looking at several top-tier distance running schools across the country, Welch chose the University of Portland for cross country, track and graduate school. Legendary cross country coach Rob Conner was the deciding factor.

“Within one minute, I could feel the confidence that Coach Conner had the power to instill in his runners.” Interestingly, Conner’s Portland Pilots team had raced and won the Griak Invitational race where Welch had shown his high end talent. While Welch didn’t make it to the National meet, Conner’s Pilots runners, all of whom were beaten by Welch at Griak, qualified and excelled at Nationals.

In hindsight, this was a selling point for both Matt and Coach Conner, who immediately offered Welch a scholarship.

“Beyond Coach Conner, I wanted to surround myself with people I knew would make me better,” Welch recalled. “At Portland, a Catholic school of 4,000 people, there are few distractions. Combine that with the top level talent, a culture of hard work. I knew it was the best place for me.”

After graduating in May 2017 from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Kinesiology, Matt Welch packed up and moved to Portland. There he enrolled in a M.A. program in Higher Education and Student Affairs and got to work training with the his new teammates. It was June of 2017. The next year was to be the best year of Matt Welch’s running career.

Throughout the summer months and into early Fall of 2017, Matt gained fitness and confidence. “In September, I ran a 9 mile tempo run at 5:10 per mile pace. I remember thinking that this is the kind of work out that the top guys in the country are doing, and I might be one of them,” Welch divulged. He was able to lead one of the best cross country teams in the country in workouts, but injuries from prior years lurked in the background.

Despite his best efforts to stay healthy and before he’d even run a race for Portland, an old achilles tendon injury reared its ugly head and put Matt back on the sidelines. Matt couldn’t even cross train by riding a bike or running in a pool. He remembers saying to himself, “I’m done.” Within days of conceding to his injury, however, something changed. “After a few days of doing absolutely nothing, I just started feeling better,” commented Welch.

As Matt recalls, as soon as Portland’s coach Rob Conner saw Welch back running, he said, “You’re running nationals.” He’d seen Welch’s talent, but this could not have been and easy decision. The 2017 Portland Pilots were talent-laden and deep. Connor would have to sit out a top athlete who would help the team qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. That faith and risk-taken on Conner’s behalf fueled Welch. Welch still jitters at the recollection, “It was immense pressure, but so exciting.”

What followed was national distance running news and a thing of lore. In Matt Welch’s first race as a Portand Pilot, he helped his team finish 2nd at the 2017 NCAA championships. While his month off in the heart of the season cost him some places, Welch passed 20 runners in the final kilometer of the 10k race to finish 46th, the 4th member of the Pilots podium team.

In a rare moment of solemnity for the otherwise lighthearted Welch, “I will remember every moment of that race for the rest of my days.”

Track season was equally magical while less dramatic. After running personal bests at 1500 meters (3:49), 3000 meters (8:05), 5000 meters (13:59), and 10000 meters (29:15), Matt qualified for his first NCAA track and field championships, finishing 20th in the 10000 meter race. Welch credits the University of Portland team culture and Rob Conner’s training program with his success. “Conner’s program is more brilliant that anybody gives him credit for,” opined Welch.

The Pilots follow a 10 day cycle repeated throughout the year with big workouts on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Welch was able to manage 105 mile weeks with innumerable runs in Portland’s legendary Forest Park, which features 75 miles of soft trails inside the city. A key element to Portland’s success according to Matt is the relatively easy effort at which the Pilots doing the base volume of their training. “Think lots of runs from 70 to 100 minutes at 7:30 per mile pace on a soft surface,” detailed Welch.

As he has transitioned from collegiate to semi-professional running, Matt has continued to follow the structure of Conner’s training. Semi-professional might be the wrong phrase for what Welch is doing; I’m not sure what to call it. After finishing his NCAA eligibility at Portland, Matt was offered and turned down contracts to join a few different professional running groups throughout the country. Don’t get me wrong, he wants to keep running competitively, he just wants to do it on his terms.

“None of the elite training groups were a good fit for me,” said Welch. “I love the sub-elite mentality,” state Welch, recalling the full time working “blue collar” runners of the 1970s and 80s. “There’s something about the grinding mentality of that era that appeals to me.” Beyond this, Matt wants a life outside of running.

After finishing his Master’s while living in a mini-bus that he built out himself (Update: Matt has sold the bus and now lives in an apartment), Welch took a job with a life and wellness coaching agency in Portland. His work at www.coachtrainingedu.com seems to be a natural extension of his running. Besides giving him a flexible work schedule his focus on self-improvement and personal growth appears to be in sync with his occupation.

Currently, a side project for Matt is his start up www.runtheprocess.com. There, Welch offers personalized coaching for athletes in the context that running is more than a sport. “Running is more than just a physical activity. It is an intentional engagement with your inner-being and a movement towards a better version of yourself,” reads the opening mission statement of Matt’s site.

As far as running goes, Matt is thriving. Representing his club of self-proclaimed sub-elites The Jacuzzi Boys who’s website proclaims that they are “Working hard. Not missing the forest through the trees”, Welch has put up some great recent results.

On September 1, 2019, Welch won Oregon’s Wine Country Half Marathon in a time of 1:04:28. While ridiculously fast, that race was a just a tune up for Sunday’s Twin Cities Marathon, where Matt hopes to qualify for the 2020 United States Olympic Marathon Trials. He needs to run under 2:19. His results and recent training show that he’s got it in him. We at TheDuluthRunner will be cheering for him with the knowledge that no matter the outcome, Matt will grow from his experience.

Thanks for catching up with us, Matt.