Long distance running has never left the side of WSU cross country coach Tim Riley. Whether running the race or motivating others, this sport has highlighted his life.

It all started for Riley while running in Corvallis, Ore., where he grew up with his dogs exploring in the woods and countryside.

Riley’s uncle on his maternal side was a successful runner, which gave Riley a spark of motivation to start running as a sport.

It wasn’t until high school that Riley realized he could achieve success with the sport. However, he said he wasn’t heavily recruited in high school, and decided he wanted to run at a small school with a good long distance running program, while staying in-state.

Eventually, he chose to fun for Eastern Oregon University.

“That was (as) far away you could get from Corvallis to stay in-state,” he said.

At Eastern Oregon University Riley was a two-time NAIA indoor track and field national qualifier and a three-time NAIA outdoor track and field national qualifier, according to wsucougars.com. In 2004, he won the 10,000-meter national championship, earning All-America honors, according to wsucougars.com. Riley was a four-time cross country MVP and selected MVP for track and field once.

After majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry and art with an emphasis in photography, Riley became the assistant cross country and track and field coach at the College of Idaho in 2004, according to wsucougars.com.

He then decided he wanted to attend graduate school at WSU, leaving Idaho in 2006. Riley became a volunteer assistant coach for the Cougars in cross country and track and field in 2009.

“I was lucky enough to convince my mentor to let me coach and go to graduate school at the same time,” Riley said.

In August 2012, after former WSU cross country coach Pete Julian stepped down from coaching, Riley was hired as the new WSU cross country coach and assistant track and field coach.

“It was an easy transition because I was his (Julian’s) volunteer assistant for three years here,” he said. “So basically I was here from the beginning as his assistant. So I knew what worked and the team and everything.”

Riley said the biggest transition that he had to make after taking this position was the recruiting process because he didn’t have the opportunity to do so since he was an assistant.

He said he enjoys his position with the Cougars and being a former long distance runner, he said coaching is much different than competing. He gets more nervous coaching, than he did competing on as an athlete, Riley said.

“It’s a lot different than being an athlete,” Riley said. “You’re on the other side of the coin and that you can do everything you can, but once the gun goes off and you let them loose, it’s out of your hands.”

The amount of effort that Riley puts in with coaching cross country is something that most people don’t understand.

“A lot of people think with cross country it’s all about training hard physically,” Riley said. “But there is a huge mental aspect to it, and that can be challenging, but once you figure it out it makes it easier.”