Illuminated by only a few overhead stadium lights and the moon, Westside’s track and field are a remarkable sight at night. Unsurprisingly, there are students there, even in the middle of the summer.

As it gets later, the number of students dwindles to only a few, mainly runners. Some run a while, then walk. Others run a mile, then leave. Westside senior Jordan Wheeler remains at the track; he runs. It isn’t uncommon for him to be running at the track or throughout the Westside neighborhoods until midnight; he has a goal and he will reach it.

Wheeler ran 600 miles this past summer, according to Boy’s Cross Country Coach, Derek Fey, Wheeler is the first student in Westside’s history to do such a thing.

“At the beginning of the summer I was talking to coach Fey, the cross country coach, and I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to hit 600 — no one has ever hit 600 miles,” Wheeler said. “He talked to me about it and told me there would be some 80 mile weeks, and I laughed it off. I would never do 80 miles in a week.”

With 80 miles a week being out of reach for Wheeler, he settled on the normal cross country running schedule. He ran with the team in the morning, everyday, completing their workout throughout the month of June. By the final weeks of June, Wheeler increased mileage from his previous 20-30 miles a week to 40-50 miles a week. He continued to run with the team as well as on his own.

As July approached, Wheeler began to prepare for running camp, where he met his inspiration and pulled his 600 mile dreams off the back burner.

“His name is Jay Birmingham,” Wheeler said. “ He has done a lot in his lifetime. He has ran across America in 72 days. It is crazy. He has ran over 200,000 [miles] in his lifetime, which is insane.”

Birmingham’s insanity rubbed off on Wheeler. He told Wheeler in order to prepare for his run across America he ran over 200 miles a week. With this thought in the back of Wheeler’s mind, he pushed himself to run 60 miles in his week at running camp.

After returning from camp, Wheeler re-examined the running log he kept throughout the summer. He had 28 days left, and 322 miles to complete. His summer was more than half over. He would have to run on average 11.5 miles a day, or the equivalent of running from Westside High School to the Missouri River every day.

“This [mileage] included Saturdays and Sundays,” Wheeler said. “I realized that’s a lot, but I knew I was gonna go for it and try it.”

Without breaks on the weekends, Wheeler knew he would be fatigued. He broke up his running into days and nights, running in the morning with the team and at nights with only one or two other people. Some days, Wheeler chose to break the it up. Others he ran 11 or 12 miles all at once. He didn’t meet his goal everyday. He had seven mile days, six mile days and even a zero mile day.

By August 8th, Wheeler decided there was no turning back. He would finish what he had started.

“I had to run about 12.5 miles a day [at this point], which meant 13 or 15 milers,” Wheeler said. “Friday the 16th, I ended up doing a 21 miler. Which really helped, [because] I could end on an easier run. That Saturday I only had to run 11 [miles] and that Sunday, only six [miles].”

Wheeler’s relief at an 11 mile day is a sentiment many varsity cross country runners at Westside and across the state cannot fathom. Most runners average about 400-500 miles a summer, or approximately five-six miles a day.

“Fey has this plaque,” Wheeler said. “It has a 400 mile club, a 500 mile club, and I wanted to create something for me. So hopefully, there will be a 600 mile club [plaque] there, with my name right under it, and only my name.”