Murphy ready for redemption race

MARION - A year later, Daniel Murphy still can't pinpoint exactly what happened.

'I think I was a little dehydrated. I might have had a little virus,” he said.

Murphy was running a fantastic race at the 2013 state cross country meet, pushing hard with the leaders when it started to unravel in the final half-mile.

'I was going up that last hill and my vision kind of got blurry,” he said. 'Then, with about 100-150 meters left, it all hit me.”

It took everything Murphy had left to stagger to the finish line, far behind the leaders and about 2 minutes behind the last stragglers. He was transported to a hospital and given IVs.

Murphy and his teammates return to Lakeside Golf Course near Fort Dodge on Saturday morning. It's a redemption run. Could be a championship run.

Linn-Mar is a Class 4A title contender behind the Murphy brothers. Daniel is a senior; Ryan is a sophomore. They are rated 10th and 13th, respectively in the 4A individual ratings.

'Definitely a couple of goal-oriented kids,” said Linn-Mar Coach Todd Goodell. 'They want to learn about the sport, how to train, how to get better.”

They're both plenty good already. They carry running genes, passed from their father, D.C., who was a steeplechaser at Texas Tech.

The boys weren't pushed into running at an early age. Daniel played soccer and baseball. Ryan was on a competitive baseball team coached by Goodell.

'That's when I knew I wanted him to be a runner for me,” Goodell said. 'He was such an intense baserunner. He would stretch a walk into a double.”

And that's how Ryan runs.

'He has a little edge to him,” Goodell said. 'I mean that in a positive way. If you give him a workout, he doesn't want to run one meter short of what's assigned.”

'I just like being aggressive,” Ryan said, 'I like to let people know I'm there.”

A back injury last spring kept Ryan out of track, and has inspired the brothers to take extended cool-downs after their race is complete.

'They are the innovators of the really, really long cool-down,” Goodell said. 'It's a minimum of 2 miles. Some days, it seems like more. Everybody will be on the bus, and the Murphys will still be on their cool-down.”

'When I got hurt, they said it was a lack of stretching,” Ryan said. 'A little extra stretching can't hurt.”

Daniel's misfortune last fall sure didn't follow him into the spring. He ran a brilliant 3,200-meter race at the state track meet in May, running 9:12.46 to place third. That got the interest rolling from the colleges; he has visited Iowa State and is also interested in Minnesota, Boise State and Texas.

'That race was a big boost,” he said. 'I didn't expect to go that fast.”

He hopes to go fast again Saturday. He hopes to run with the front pack, which should include Daniel Soto of West Des Moines Valley, Ryan Schweizer of West Des Moines Dowling and Tysen VanDraska of Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Most importantly, he hopes to lead the Lions to a team championship that eluded them last year. The return of Michael Mather gives the Lions a legitimate shot at three runners in the top 10.

'I think we really have a good shot at winning it,” Daniel said. 'It's going to be a dogfight, but we have a chance.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com