INTRODUCTION: It was the summer of 2018, and Whisper was hosting a summer running camp in Long Beach, WA. Our stay was in two large homes with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, just a few steps away from putting our feet in the water. Prior to our arrival, I had reached out to a few cross-country coaches in the Long Beach community to inquire about running trails in the area. The head XC coach from Ilwaco High School not only shared some great running options, but she opened the doors to the high school track, and better yet, she introduced us to her number one running, Daniel Whiting. Danny was a stud, having been to state all four years of high school, finishing in the top-20 twice. Additionally, he was a great human - super humble, eager, and seemingly excited to run with us on the day we showed up at the trailhead to meet he and his coach. After the run, Danny joined us for a few hours back at the house, and again a couple times more throughout the week. He was a true delight to get to know, and it was exciting to see him run a few times during his high school career, and again in a Whisper uniform during the XC Junior Olympics in Seattle during the 2018 season.
To be continued is similar to a “where are they now?,” update, where runners of the past provide us a small glimpse of their lives, where they’ve been, what they’ve been up to, and where they are heading. Having remained in contact with Danny over the years has been super special to me, and I am thrilled to share with you his article, To be continued.
I grew up in Long Beach, WA and graduated from Ilwaco High School in 2020. I attended Clark College where I earned my associates of arts in June of 2022. My purpose of attending Clark was to continue competitive running and meet the prerequisites for the flight school I wanted to attend. It is my life long dream to be an airline pilot. Covid had huge impact on the athletics side of this plan. Due to Covid, I was unable to compete in my last year of high school track along with any collegiate events. By my second year of attending Clark, I was no longer planning on running competitively. I decided to begin working towards my private pilot license (PPL) while finishing Clark. I graduated from Clark and earned my PPL on the same day. Although, I did not get the opportunity to compete in a Clark uniform, I did compete in high school and this is some of my story.
My first involvement with running was in seventh grade as I entered middle school. I chose to do cross country simply because I liked the idea of trail running. By the time I was a in Freshman in high school (2016), I realized I had developed a passion for running. Fast forward to summer of 2018, I was summer training for my upcoming junior year cross country season when I was introduced to Whisper Running. My high school coach had let the team know a running club from Vancouver, WA was going to be at our high school track to do a run if anyone wanted to join. I was the one team member to attend. I shared some of our favorite local trails that we often used for training to Whisper. After the run, I was invited by Dave to join him and the team at their beach house for activities. Dave and I had kept in contact throughout the remainder of my summer training and cross country season. That season, I had the goal of running under 17:00 minutes for the 5k race. I ended my junior year 17th at 1B/2B State Meet and held season record of 16:48. Shortly after the completion of the State meet, I met the Whisper team in Seattle to race the Pacific Northwest Junior Olympics. This was my first time competing with Whisper. After the Junior Olympics, I took a couple weeks of rest before winter training for track. I attended high school two hours away from Vancouver where Whisper practices so, Dave and I continued to work together remotely. I made it to Vancouver to practice a small number of times duringIntr this off-season. Dave had composed a personalized winter training plan for me to help prepare me for the track season. I completed my Junior year shy of making state by one place in the 3200 meter race. My season bests for the 1600/3200 were 4:40/10:21. Both times were improved from the season prior and the goal of a 4:40 1600 was achieved. By the time I started summer training for my senior year I had set some goals. I wanted to improve my 5k time along with earning a spot on the podium at State. To achieve those two goals I knew my summer training had to be well structured and consistent. I built up on my weekly mileage to about 45-50 miles. Each off-season I would add a few more weekly miles as I noticed I adapted well with more volume. As the season approached, I felt conditioned and well prepared to have a good senior year. I was happy with all of my races during the season. I was able to shave 10 seconds off my 5k time from the previous year leaving me at a 16:38 season best. My biggest improvement was the difference between times at the Junior and Senior year State meet. I ran the race 26 seconds faster and earned a podium spot my senior year. At the time I did not know that was going to be my last competitive season. Covid had made an appearance a few months after finishing the season. I continued to train in preparation for cross country at Clark.
This is Daniel after earning his commercial pilots license. Grayson and I were fortunate to fly with Danny in July 2023, and I am so proud of Danny’s drive and determination to continue pursuing his dreams.
After graduating high school, I moved to Vancouver in the summer (2020) during the height of Covid. Throughout Covid, I continued to work and attended Clark remotely. It was not long before being notified our track season was canceled as well. From this point on, I attended online classes and worked full time. April of last year (2022) I met Dave for lunch. It had been some time since we last caught up. We worked out loose plans of taking him and his son Grayson flying during the summer once I earned my PPL. During July we coordinated and made a scenic flight around Mount Saint Helens happen. This was an unforgettable flight. In August I had decided I wanted to finish my flight training in Mesa, AZ. My decision on moving down here was based around my plans to continue flight training along providing myself with the best opportunity. So far Arizona has treated me well and I recently earned my single-engine commercial license. Being a commercial pilot is one step closer towards the airlines. Going forward, as I wrap up flight training in the next couple of months, I plan be a flight instructor to earn the rest of my hours needed for the airlines. Once that is achieved, I will move on and work for one of the many companies transporting people.