RILEY Jacob

General
SETBACKS AND COMEBACK
After battling an Achilles injury that contributed to him finishing 15th at the 2016 US Olympic Team Trials in Los Angeles, CA, he decided to leave his training group in Michigan and move back to Washington state. "I was a bit dissatisfied with where I was in life [in 2016]. I felt I was spinning my wheels a bit, fighting this injury that would not go away." The injury led to him not racing for three years, and he also divorced from his wife during this time and contracted Lemierre's syndrome, a rare bacterial infection that resulted in five days in hospital. "I moved back home with my parents. At 29, it's not a great feeling to be at home with no job and no sponsor, and hurt." After recovering from Lemierre's syndrome in June 2017, he called coach Lee Troop who convinced him to move to Troop's training group, TEAM Boulder Track Club, in Colorado. "I needed to make a jump in some direction because I couldn't stay where I was. It turned out to be a really good decision." Both he and coach Troop considered quitting the sport in 2018. "We [Troop and I] went through a lot of very personal stuff at a very similar time. My return to activity and getting back to being a professional runner coincides with him deciding that he wanted to continue coaching. We found a new enthusiasm and a life in the sport. Running has been a huge part of who I am and has defined just about every life choice I have made since high school, and the thought of not being part of this community was scary, sad and depressing. I didn't want to do that." (runnersworld.com, 13 Mar 2020; letsrun.com, 29 Feb 2020; atlanta2020trials.com, 29 Feb 2020; podiumrunner.com, 29 Feb 2020; coloradorunnermag.com, 02 Mar 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION AND TUTORING
After graduating from Stanford University in 2012 with a degree in biomechanical engineering, he began a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018, and planned to graduate in 2021. Alongside his studies he works as a tutor at a Colorado-based college admissions tutoring school. His master's programme involves research and design for a running shoe company, and he plans to work in research and development of running shoes after retiring from professional athletics. (Linkedin profile, 01 Jan 2019; letsrun.com, 29 Feb 2020; atlanta2020trials.com, 29 Feb 2020; podiumrunner.com, 29 Feb 2020; runnersworld.com, 13 Mar 2020; medium.com, 22 Dec 2020)

FONDNESS FOR CROSS-COUNTRY
As a high school student he enjoyed cross-country, and said that if it was on the Olympic programme he would switch disciplines. "Cross-country is what got me into running in the first place, mostly because of the camaraderie of being on a team, but I also like how much more technical it is - getting to race on different kinds of courses, the bigger race fields, and just going out and getting muddy. If cross-country was in the Olympics I'd shift my focus in a heartbeat. I think it would be great for the sport, and great for running in general." (espn.com, 06 Feb 2015)