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Royer born to run
Kurtis J. Wood/Post-Register
Ruth Royer is a veteran runner and has competed in several marathons and half-marathons.
Ever since she was little, Ruth Royer has loved to run — the further, the better.
She started running as a grade-schooler along the streets of Tillamook, Ore. She found she enjoyed the exercise and the chance to connect with her mother, who often joined her.
When she got older, Royer continued to run and discovered that it sparked a fierce competitive nature inside of her. She also discovered that she had some talent — after a decorated prep running career, she took her talents to George Fox University, where she competed for the Bruins’ cross country team.
Now, as a wife and mother of two young boys, Royer continues to run. Not because she has to, mind you, or because she feels as if she absolutely has to hit a particular time.
For Royer, running is deeply personal.
“I enjoy the challenge,” she said. “I’m a competitive person, but I’m not aggressive, so running fits me really well. And my competitiveness doesn’t necessarily have to manifest itself against another person; when I’m on the treadmill, I’ll challenge myself to do better, and won’t get off until I’m done.
“Plus, now that I have a family, it’s nice to have some ‘me’ time by myself, or I can run with other women and get some social time.”
Royer noticed early on that running would be something she would be able to embrace.
“When I started running with my mom, it was just easy for me,” she said. “I just found myself gravitating toward it. I mean, few people enjoy it, and for me, the longer the better.”
Indeed, Royer is a true long-distance runner. In high school, she ran the 3,000-meter race, and in college she ran 5,000 and 10,000-meter races.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m three miles into a race or 12, I’m still going to be at the same pace,” she said. “I don’t consider myself a fast runner, but I’m just able to keep going for a long time. I’ve got endurance, I guess.”
Running has taken Royer places, literally and figuratively. She has run one full marathon — in Seattle, in 2000 — and several more half-marathons along the West Coast.
She’s also running for a purpose. For the last couple of years, she’s been a part of Team in Training, which is an extension of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Team In Training is a charity sports training program that has raised over $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services.
Team members participate in a variety of marathons, triathlons or hiking adventures. In exchange for training and support, team members help raise money toward cures for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
“Our athletes have walked away with new friends, amazing accomplishments and the sense that they did something even more important than getting in good shape,” according to a statement on Team In Training’s Web page.
Last year, Royer was a runner, and this year she’ll be a coach for the Wenatchee team, which will participate in the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco, the Kaua’i Marathon in Hawaii and the Portland Marathon, all in the fall.
“It’s a cool thing to be a part of,” she said. “There’s a real sense of positiveness and camaraderie.”
It’s fitting that Royer is a coach this year because she’s a junior high running coach as well. She’s been the cross country coach at Quincy Junior High School for the past 10 years and is set to enter her fourth year as a track and field coach.
Royer tries to make running as fun as possible, having her harriers perform activities such as scavenger hunts or games of tag in the park to break up the monotony.
“Ninety-nine percent of the kids that turn out for cross country are really good kids,” she said. “Since the junior high kids only run races that are 1 1/2 miles long, we don’t have to pound the pavement every day. We try to mix it up. Once a week we do a good track workout, and one day we’ll do long distance, but we try to make it as fun as possible.
“If you can show a kid that you really care, he or she will find a way to not disappoint you. I try to emphasize to them to not care about what place they finish. I ask them to push themselves and set goals for themselves every week.”
Royer graduated from George Fox with a degree in social work, but is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in teaching program through Heritage University. Her eventual goal is to become an elementary teacher. She currently is a substitute teacher and school volunteer.
She is also a full-time mom to two boys — Ethan, 7, and Aaron, 4, with her husband, Andrew.
“It keeps me busy,” she said. “Once Ethan was born, I had the opportunity to quit working, and it’s been a lot of fun to hang out with my three boys.”
Royer, who is active at Quincy’s Free Methodist Church, met Andrew in college. They were married in 1996 and moved to Quincy in 1999. Thanks in part to her small town roots, Royer has grown to embrace Quincy, although she will admit to missing the close proximity to beaches and the Pacific Ocean that Tillamook provides.
“In Tillamook, there’s constant tourism, so a lot of people aren’t really friendly because there’s so many people around that they don’t know,” she said. “Here, it’s a much more comfortable feel. It’s friendly. There’s a family feeling in Quincy. People aren’t just passing through.”
Royer may be passionate about running, but it sounds as if when it comes to Quincy, she’ll be happy to stay in place.
(For more information on Team In Training or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit teamtraining,org, leukemia,org or e-mail Royer at ruthroyer@gmail.com.)
