He just keeps running, and running, and running.
Not Forrest Gump. Not the Energizer Bunny. But University of Colorado Boulder sophomore Justice Ramos.
The 2015 Montezuma-Cortez graduate has been conditioning all fall as a member of the Buffaloes cross-country team.
And now, he’s moving from the trail to the track for the Buffs’ indoor track season.
Ramos worked out with the cross-country program last year to stay in shape for track and field, his primary sport. But this season, he competed in three of the long-distance races.
He finished 44th (15:41) in the season-opening Colorado State Frontier Academy Invitational 5K in September. And then in 8K events, he finished 28th (27:08) at the Buffs’ home meet at Buffalo Ranch, and set a new personal record (26:25) at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Illinois, to place 134th.
Ramos said that the distance work he put in with the cross-country team helped him build a base and strengthen his legs. But now, heading into the indoor track season, he’s narrowing his focus from 8 kilometers to 800 meters.
“To be able to run a good 800 you have to have strength,” he said. “So I’m going about training with all the distance runs, and once I start the track season I’ll throw in some speed with all that distance.”
Ramos finished fifth (1:55.74) in the 800m at the 2015 Class 4A Colorado State Track and Field Championships as a senior at M-CHS. And then, in his freshman season at CU, he set a new personal best (1:51.23) and finished 11th at the Pac-12 Championships in May.
Now, with a year of collegiate experience under his belt and a few cross-country races to boot, Ramos hopes to continue to improve in his sophomore track season.
“I’m just focusing on trying to do the best that I can do,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what my time goals for indoor are yet, I just want to do well. Since I’ve already proved myself, I just want to improve.”
Ramos and the Buffaloes kick off the 2016-17 indoor season on Friday, Dec. 9 in Laramie, Wyoming.