Wolverines Use Hands Rather Than Legs at Nichols Arboretum
10/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
On three Sundays in September and October, members of the University of Michigan men's and women's cross country teams spent their afternoon volunteering in the Nichols Arboretum through Michigan's Let's Go Do community service program. The teams and coaches weeded, mulched, cleared plants and hauled compost together, with guidance from Lead Horticulturist Adrienne O'Brien.
A few of them also took time to talk to MGoBlue.com about the real value of the Arboretum as a training ground. The Wolverines are fortunate to have such a unique and scenic setting right in the heart of campus, and the student-athletes were eager to give back to a venue that has provided them with such a special training ground for years.
Volunteering at the Nichols Arboretum is one of the many initiatives that student-athletes are participating in through the recently launched Let's Go Do community service program. Built in partnership with our student-athletes, Let's Go Do is focused on providing all 31 varsity athletics teams a diverse range of meaningful volunteer opportunities in the community. To learn more about this program, please visit MGoBlue.com/community.
By Chad Shepard
Ann Arbor is a runner's haven.
Home to an active and densely populated running community, the city's wealth of hills and wooded trails provide a range of options for runners to choose from. For the Wolverine men's and women's cross country programs, the diverse locations spread throughout campus and outside its confines provide the backbone for a unique training program that utilizes all of the options that Ann Arbor has to offer.
Perhaps the most exclusive location within this collection of diverse and scenic backdrops is the Nichols Arboretum. Nestled in the heart of campus between Mary Markley Hall and Oxford Housing and stretching east to the Huron River, "The Arb" is one of the most well-known features on the University of Michigan campus. Alumni remember it well, and countless Michigan students and faculty members, as well as Ann Arbor residents, have spent lazy afternoons or memorable weekends enjoying its scenery.
From a competitive running perspective, its sharp, steep hills provide the perfect venue to shake up training. Both the men's and women's team visit the Arb regularly during workouts, and their frequent presence has led to a special connection between the programs and the city's most picturesque property.
"It's just a beautiful place to run," said Michigan men's assistant coach Dusty Lopez, "and it's also a great place to bring people. We had a lot of recruits on campus last weekend, and it's important to be able to show kids that we have a gem like this close to campus."
The teams use the Arb often and understand its benefits.
"The hill here is a good mix for training," explains junior/sophomore George Kelly, "Not only is it steep -- it's probably one of the steepest hills in Ann Arbor -- but it's also soft-surface dirt, so it's a lot less pounding on our bodies. We still get the aerobic benefit of a workout battling elevation without as much of the damage on our bodies."
"It's one of the premier spaces in the area," added sophomore/freshman Micah Beller, "It's a different type of facility than you would typically think of in the athletic world, but it's just as important to us as anything else, and it's been a great resource."
A typical path for the team to follow during workouts begins on the property's northeast end, where the steeped staircases meet the Huron River. Beginning on flat ground, runners begin their ascent up a snaking, zigzagging path before finishing near Geddes Road. In total, the distance is about one kilometer, but with the sharp incline, it's no easy task.
"You're adding a different element of stress, and that's what makes you better in the long term," said sophomore/freshman Corinne Florie. "It's harder than what you're used to, so when it's time to race you're so much stronger than you were before. Coming to the Arb is one of the paramount things that we do."
Take a stroll through the Arb on a Sunday afternoon, and you'll find runners of all ages, sizes and skill levels. Young and old; student, staff member or retiree, they congregate in the city's most scenic space to enjoy the therapy that comes from healthy exercise and a dose of fresh air.
Some days, you may even run into the Wolverines, clocking splits while pushing up the Arb's steepest hill or cheering on their teammates during a cool down. Visit the Arb on a Sunday toward the end of September, though, and you will encounter a very different scene.
There are still teammates working together to make themselves better. They are still clad in Maize and Blue, with the block M featured prominently on shirts, sweatpants and jackets. Instead of zipping through the Arb at breakneck speeds, members from both teams are on their hands and knees, getting dirt under their fingernails and volunteering to help keep their most prized training ground looking clean.
"We utilize this facility so often; this is the least we can do to give back," said Michigan women's head cross country coach Mike McGuire, now in his 23rd season. "I've been here a long time, and the two places I look at as jewels on this campus are here and the Law Quad. Anything we can do to keep this jewel polished, we're happy to do it."
McGuire reached out to one of the Mathei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum's five Lead Horticulturists, Adrienne O'Brien, and she was thrilled at the idea of the cross country teams spending a few Sunday afternoons helping her staff make preparations for the winter.
"This has been an incredibly busy fall, so this helps me out a lot personally, in addition to helping the rest of the staff and helping with the upkeep of the gardens themselves," said O'Brien.
O'Brien got to witness the power of numbers firsthand, as the week's volunteers ripped through the lush Peony Gardens in a matter of hours, a project that would have taken O'Brien and her staff much longer to complete.
"It's all part of the renovation of the historic Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden," she announces, proudly.
All in all, O'Brien helps oversee hundreds of acres of property and manages to do it all with a staff of about 30.
She gets volunteers from various local companies and university departments but admits, "It's nice to have the same people who use our facility give back to it; that really means a lot. It's a wonderful resource we have here, and everyone in the university community should know about it."
McGuire and his teams have volunteered in the Arb before, but they plan to structure a more consistent schedule for their efforts.
"An ex-athlete of ours had been involved in a few outreach programs and encouraged us to get involved," said McGuire, "We were here for a couple of years, and then we had a bit of a lapse for a year or so."
The return of Kevin Sullivan, U-M head men's cross country coach, re-energized their efforts as well.
"Between the two of us, if we had a dollar for every time we've run through here we'd be really wealthy guys," joked McGuire, "We're both on the same page that this is an endeavor which we should follow through on annually."
"We use the arboretum pretty much on a weekly basis throughout the fall," said Sullivan, "I mean we really use this area a lot. We know its importance to the university, so it's nice for us to come do some beautifying for the general population and the student body that comes out here."
"It's a good way for us to bridge the gap between campus and athletic life," he went on, "A lot of people don't see us in this kind of environment. They only see us on the competition field, so it's good for them to see that we're regular people who want to give back to the community and help out."
Volunteering around Ann Arbor, especially on campus, is nothing new for Michigan student-athletes. Through a diverse number of partnerships with the hospital system, local schools and other charitable organizations, opportunities like this are common for the over 900 Wolverine student-athletes who call Ann Arbor home.
"We are really lucky that we have a place like this to run and to train," said women's team co-captain Taylor Pogue. "The Arb is really well known as the place for workouts at Michigan, and it has a long legacy of great runners coming here to run. It's awesome to be a part of that."
Ultimately, the runners have a firm grasp on the real message their coaches and teammates are hammering home: that being a student-athlete at U-M comes with a different set of expectations; expectations to become the Leaders and Best in every way.
"There's something special about being a student-athlete at the University of Michigan," said Florie, "You're a part of something bigger than yourself and coming here and giving back to the community is just one little thing we can do for everything that's been provided for us here."
"These guys understand that being a student-athlete at Michigan isn't just about athletics and academics; it's important to be giving back to this campus and its population," said Sullivan, "Some of our guys were out for 18- and 19-mile runs earlier this morning, but they're still out here in the afternoon, doing some good in their community."
"Michigan athletes have a lot of advantages and resources that they are able to utilize to work towards their goals," added Lopez, "The Arb is an awesome one of those resources, and it only makes sense that we would come out here and try to contribute towards keeping it in good shape."
Working on a project where the final results are tangible and can be enjoyed by all who volunteered is another added benefit to the teams' involvement at the Arboretum.
"You get more out of it than working at a place where we aren't running all the time," said Kelly, "We're making this place better for not only ourselves but everyone else that enjoys it here."
All in all, the project is another example of the family atmosphere Coach Sullivan and Coach McGuire have strived to bring to the cross country programs since Sullivan's return.
"Starting with the fact that Kevin and I both ran here, each member of the program respects the other and respects the history and connection between the two programs," explained McGuire, "Kevin is the greatest athlete that ever ran here. Working together just creates a good bond between the two teams."
"We're all racing for Michigan," said Pogue, "We want to do something really big this year, and I think these little projects definitely help reinforce that."
"Plus, I like getting down there and getting our fingernails a little dirty," McGuire smirked, "There's nothing wrong with that. It all speaks to the work ethic of a cross country runner."
The famed work ethic of a U-M cross country runner yields many an afternoon spent in the Arboretum. But as this year's teams have shown, those afternoons aren't always best spent by running. If you pass by some Wolverines hard at work on their hands and knees during your next trip to through the Arb, you'll realize that even though they might not be moving as quickly as they're used to, they are definitely going places.
Volunteers interested in helping with the upkeep of the U-M Mathei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum properties should visit lsa.umich.edu for more information.
Contact: Chad Shepard
