It is a known fact that if you are runner eventually, you will encounter some form of wildlife on a runs. It is no different for Chico State junior, Michael Wickman. “For the past two summers I have lived in Truckee, CA to train at altitude. While there I have had several crazy experiences with the local wild life. One of those moments happened when I witnessed a middle age woman running screaming down the street as two coyotes were chasing her. Needless to say I came to her rescue and scared off the coyotes,” he recounts.

“That however, doesn’t take the cake,” he continues, “The story goes something like this: My teammate Clinton and I see a bear poke its head out from behind a house. Now, I had seen about five or six bears already this summer, so I wasn’t that interested in any further investigation. Clinton on the other hand had his camera phone on him, so he wanted to take a picture of the bear. Despite my pleas to just leave the bear alone, Clinton had to have a picture of the bear. So, we snuck behind the house and found the bear about 50m away facing the other direction. That is about where I stopped. Clinton started walking closer to the bear to try and get a good shot. As Clinton was creeping closer to the bear he stepped on a branch that snapped under his weight. The bear immediately turned towards Clinton and they made eye contact. Nobody moved for several seconds then…run! The bear darted in our direction and I have never run so fast in my life. I didn’t stop until I had made it pretty far down the street. Clinton was right on my heels. Lucky for us the bear must have been scared by the traffic on the street, because he stopped at the house. If Clinton and I had been on a track, we probably would have run 1:45 for 800m. If only I could have a bear chase me around a track.”

Even without the bear, Wickman has run good times on the track this season with a 1:49.90 in the 800m and 3:46.52 in the 1500m. His 1500m time was run at the Chico Distance Carnival where he was able to toe the line with pro runners. About this experience he explains, “I have to say, there is nothing better than stepping onto your home track with ‘Thunderstruck’ by ACDC playing as your name is being announced before your race. Even though the race didn’t go exactly how I wanted, it was still an amazing experience. To be able to toe the line with professional runners is pretty exciting. The Chico Distance Carnival is by far the best and fastest meet between Sacramento and Eugene. Word is starting to get out that we are able to put on a good meet in front of a decent crowd. You can be sure to see faster times coming from that meet in the future. Chico fans are the best!”

Wickman began running in 6^th grade with a local track club in Walnut Creek, CA and continued into high school. “ I remember my first high school track meet like it was yesterday. I stepped onto the track so nervous and scared; the other runners just towered over me. When the gun went off I just ran for my life. I ended up winning the 1600m in 4:39 and an hour later I ran 2:05 in the 800m. After my races my coach just smile and said, ‘You’ve got speed.’ I went on to run 4:30 in the 1600m my freshmen year,” he recalls. By his senior year he qualified for the California state championships finishing 5^th overall in the time of 1:54.

By his senior year is high school, he was visiting several different colleges. “When I arrived in Chico the head cross-country coach, Gary Towne, took me on a tour of the campus. Afterwards I went for a run in Bidwell Park. As soon as I stepped into Bidwell Park I knew that I wanted to come to Chico. Chico had everything that I was looking for: a great coach, a great team, and a great place to train. I am so glad that I made the decision to come here,” he says.

Once at Chico, there have been a few changes, as he explains, “Without a doubt the biggest thing that has changed in my training is mileage. Gary has seamless transitioned me into college running by steadily increasing my mileage with every passing season. Our training is based on having a strong foundation of mileage to build off of as the season progresses. Gary told me to ‘buy into the training’, and I have. I think believing in your training is key to success."

Also at Chico, he has found teammates willing to push him: "The mid-distance squad consists of six guys, which is a decent number of training partners. We are a pretty tight group; five of us red-shirted last year, so that we could try and make nationals together in the 800m. As it stands, I am seated 2^nd, Clinton Hayes is 7^th, and Dave Wellman is 11^th. Dave and Clinton are both capable of running sub- 1:50. This lends to very conducive and effective training. It makes a big difference in my training if I have people who can help push me.”

With this good base, he is ready to focus on this season’s goals. “Last season I had to sit idle on the sidelines and watch as my teammate, Angel Marquez placed second in the 1500m at nationals. This year I have the opportunity to chase down a national title in the 1500m and the 800m and I couldn’t be more excited about it. I know that I have the tools to make it happen. I feel much stronger than I did last year, and with the training I have been doing I am confident that I will be able to hang with anybody out there. If I don’t get the national title in the 1500m or the 800m, I sure as hell am going to make whoever gets it work for it. As cool as it would be to get a national title, I honestly just want to walk away from nationals knowing that I gave all that I had,” he explains.

Wickman is also looking to the future, stating “I have several different goals that I would like to accomplish by the time I graduate. I really want to break the Chico State record in the 800m, which is currently 1:48.89. I also want to try and break four in the mile, which will also hopefully convert to a school record in the 1500m. On the national level, I would love to get a national title in the 1500m or the 800m; I don’t think Chico has had a national champ in either event. In cross-country I would love to place in the top 15 individually, and as a team I want to better our performance from last year. All of these goals might sound hard to accomplish, but I know that I am perfectly capable of achieving them. If I don’t succeed, at least I know that I tried my best and that is really what matters.”