When Josh Babiak moved to Marin County in 1999, running was just something he had done for fun when he wasn’t playing ice hockey.

“There’s not a lot of ice out here so I decided I’d try another sport,” Babiak said of his transition into distance running.

Originally from Oklahoma, Babiak moved to Marin County with his mother after his parents divorced.

Prompted by the lack of hockey facilities, Babiak joined the cross country and track teams of Redwood High School in Larkspur where he met coach Tom Lyons, who would cross paths with him again some years later here at SF State.

“He’s as hard a worker as I’ve ever had,” Lyons said. “He ran for me two years, his senior year in cross country. He was 10th in the state meet in Division III for high school. That was outstanding.”

After graduating from Redwood, Babiak attended College of Marin, where he kept running and training on his own due to the school’s lack of a stable cross country program. He transferred to SF State in the spring of 2005 and ran track. He was unattached due to the absence of a men’s track and field team.

He reunited with Lyons after his first semester at SF State.

“It was great,” Babiak said of reuniting with Lyons. “I knew the coaching style worked for me and I can honestly say if it wasn’t for Tom I wouldn’t be running today. I haven’t had a coach quite like him. He certainly knows how to get his athletes peaked for the right time and he makes it fun. He really makes it an enjoyable experience.”

In the near decade since moving to California, cross country has played a huge role in Babiak’s life. He won the title of All-American in the fall semester of 2005, placing 38th overall, the last slot qualifying for the title.

“I almost broke down in the middle of the store where I was buying muffins I was so happy,” Babiak said of his reaction upon hearing the news while shopping in a southern California grocery store.

“It was fantastic!” said Josh’s mother JoanJoann Babiak about the experience of watching her son at the meet. “Those guys were coming across the finish line like freight trains...It was hot, it was dusty, these guys were out there like locomotives. It was incredible.”

His involvement in the sport has even influenced the kind of person he is.

“He’s one of those really supportive teammates that you look forward to running with every day during practice, which is helpful because most people look at cross country as this independent sport,” said teammate Dan Napieralski. “But you honestly you need your teammates and their support if you’re going to practice every day, run every day, put the mileage in. He’s one of those guys you can count on to help you get through.”

Teammate Claire Fleming agrees. “He’s definitely a leader. He’s always leading the pack, he’s always in front, you always see him and he’s always doing the right thing. He takes his running very seriously.”

That sense of camaraderie is shared. It is this network of friends and teammates that helped Babiak complete his Bachelor of Science in psychology last year when he took the season off to finish his degree and heal from an injury. Now he’s back beginning graduate work in kinesiology.

“It’s pretty much running and school work or hanging out with these kids over here,” Babiak said, gesturing to teammates.

“I think I’m probably kind of a hard working meat-and-potatoes kind of guy,” said Babiak.

But perhaps it is his mother Joann who can describe him best: “He’s dedicated to his sport, he’s hard working, he’s kind. I’m very proud of my kid, he’s come through a lot of adversity. He’s a tough guy, he’s a good guy, and he has worked hard to get where he is.”