About The Author
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Matt Peharda ran four years of cross-country at Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois. He is the co-founder of a local elite running club, named the Sunday Run Club. He works at Running Central, the local running store. When he is not working or running, Matt enjoys helping coach the Richwoods cross-country team. "I can never get enough of it," he states. "Some people think I'm crazy for caring so much about the sport and my 'old team.' I have had a lot of people tell me to 'move on.' I don't think of it that way at all. It is a part of me that I can't simply walk away from. I get so much more out of it now then I did when I was in the program."
He is now running for the Monmouth College Cross-Country and Track teams. Matt is pursuing a degree in Mathematics with an emphasis on Secondary Education. After college, he wishes to teach and coach at his former high school.
In addition to running, Matt also likes playing basketball, biking, skateboarding, and spending time on the lake. "I never even ran until high school. Even then, I was never that into it. I just did it to have friends...In order to maintain my love for running, I have to do other things to get my mind off of it sometimes. That's when I shoot hoops or get on my skateboard...until I get hurt."
His favorite book is Once A Runner by John L. Parker Jr. "That book is really the only (running) book that has ever captivated me. In all honesty, I tried to make this as emotionally gripping as Once A Runner, but added more than just the running aspect of life to the book. The emotions are all still there. The gut-wrenching, page-gripping sense in races and training is without a doubt still present, but I wanted to add a little more about overcoming adversity to the book."
Matt is most influenced by his high school cross-country coaches Bob LaCroix, Todd Hursey, and Ed Ricca. "They were basically like father figures to me in high school. I still talk to them whenever I can...they have always been there for me, whether I need to talk to them about something serious or just have a good laugh."
He can be contacted at mpeharda@monm.edu