GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) - For Dominik Ladomoto-Fisher, the alarm goes off around 6:15 a.m. By the time many students are settling into their first class, the Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy senior has already started a morning at Kent Career Technical Center where he is studying Health Career Foundations and working toward a Medical Assistant certification.
From KCTC, he takes a bus to UPREP for advisory and the rest of his classes, including AP Literature. After lunch, he heads to Grand Rapids Community College for a dual enrollment pre-calculus course. Then, it's back on the bus, this time to Ottawa Hills, where he squeezes in homework before cross country practice begins at 4:15 p.m.
For the next couple of hours, running takes over.
The routine is demanding, but Ladomoto-Fisher has learned to embrace the consistency that comes with distance running. He started running in kindergarten, competing in elementary cross country and track before stepping away from cross country in middle school. Coach Dan Ebright eventually saw him on the track team and encouraged him to give cross country another try.
At first, Ladomoto-Fisher wasn't convinced he could handle the distance.
“I felt like there was no way I could run that far,” he said.
Ebright gave him a simple answer: “There’s no secret recipe. It’s just coming in every day and putting in the work.”
Ladomoto-Fisher did, and the consistency helped build his confidence.
His teammate, City High Middle School senior Madeleine Hengeveld, has found her own version of that consistency. Her day starts around 6:20 a.m. with a drive to school, followed by classes and a trip home for pre-practice fuel. At Ottawa Hills, practices can last more than two hours and include running, weightlifting, and cross-training.
For Hengeveld, cross-training has become especially important after dealing with three bone injuries, including a stress fracture that caused her to miss the previous track season. Instead of letting those setbacks define her, she has focused on getting stronger and learning from them. That work helped her qualify for the state cross country meet last year, which she hopes to do again this fall.
The two runners' schedules don't end when practice does. Hengeveld heads home for homework, dinner and, ideally, a10:00 p.m. bedtime. Ladomoto-Fisher has another stop: robotics at Innovation Central, where he is part of FIRST Robotics Team 904.
Weekends bring even more commitments. Ladomoto-Fisher often works eight-hour shifts at a local fast food restaurant, sometimes even after a morning meet. He credits his mother for teaching him the work ethic he brings to school, running, and everything else on his calendar.
“She’s taught me that there’s no limitation and if I put my mind to something, I can do anything,” he said.
For both runners, though, one of the biggest challenges isn't finding another thing to do. It's knowing when to slow down. Hengeveld has learned to weigh homework against sleep and training against recovery, while Ladomoto-Fisher is working on making more time to check in with himself mentally.
Their days are packed with miles, classes, work, and extracurricular activities, but the lesson cross country continues to teach them is simple: progress comes from staying consistent and knowing when to take care of yourself along the way.
