Running Media Person of the Year

In all my years of running, I have given this honor exactly once. That was Keenan Gray, and at the time, I wondered whether I would ever meet another journalist who earned it. I have now. For only the second time in a decade, I am proud to name a Running Media Person Of The Year.

Before I tell you about him, let me tell you why this award means so much to me.

I met Keenan Gray in the fall of 2018 at the district cross-country championships. Brothers Kobe and Caden Deutscher had just finished 1-2, leading our team to the district title, and a young journalist I had never seen before was asking them questions, and asking me questions, with instincts that were years beyond his experience. He was only beginning his running media journey. I knew right then that there was something extraordinary about him.

I was right. Keenan built The Runner into the finest high school cross-country and track and field coverage this state has ever seen. He traveled the entire State of Washington, and sometimes beyond, to tell the stories nobody else would tell. He did it while attending college full-time. He did it through a pandemic, when our sports were barely covered at all. His work reminded me of local legend Bill Roe, who put Northwest running on the map decades ago with Northwest Runner Magazine, founded Club Northwest, and went on to become President of USA Track and Field.                                           

Keenan more than earned the 2020-2021 Running Media Person Of The Year. Today, he is a writer and commentator for world-renowned Runnerspace-DyeStat, known worldwide. He has come a very long way from that district meet in 2018.

That is the standard. That is the bar. And that brings me to why I am writing today.

Dylan Reubenking, the sports reporter and editor for the Thurston Chronicle, has cleared it.

Dylan is one of our own from Thurston County. He graduated from Timberline High School right here in Lacey, then went on to earn his journalism degree, summa cum laude, at the University of Oregon — Track Town USA, the storied home of American distance running — before bringing his craft back home. That heritage shows up in his work.

Dylan does not cover running exclusively the way Keenan once did. He is the lone sports reporter and editor for an entire county, carrying every sport on his shoulders. But when he turns his attention to running, the coverage is simply amazing. He is a tireless worker who goes the extra mile for our local sports community, the kind of reporter who shows up, gets it right, and gives our athletes the recognition they have earned. Our kids in Thurston County are better seen because of him.

Like Keenan, I see greatness in Dylan. And like Keenan back in 2018, he has only just begun.

It is my honor to name Dylan the 2026 Running Media Person Of The Year.

Thank you, Dylan, for your hard work and your heart for this community. Your work inspires the rest of us to keep helping young people reach their God-given potential. It does not go unnoticed.

Blessings,

Coach Weber

Philippians 4:13