2019, Founding the Roadrunner Junior Club

In the Fall 2019, John Hedengren, a former youth national champion and All-American collegiate runner, founded the Roadrunner Junior Club in Provo, Utah. Starting with just 17 enthusiastic young athletes, the club’s first practices took place at local parks and trails. The focus was on introducing elementary and middle school students to running in a fun, supportive environment. Early on, team captains Jane Hedengren (then a 7th-grader) and Sam Clayton set the tone by leading warm-ups and encouraging their teammates. The new Roadrunners jumped into local meets that fall, often racing in community events like the Kiwanis Park series. By season’s end, they had built a close-knit team culture, sharing night games, spaghetti dinners, and plenty of post-practice tag and frisbee to balance the hard workouts.

The fall 2019 cross-country season culminated in an exciting trip to the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. Because the Roadrunner club was brand new, the athletes combined with the larger RaceCats club to form a scoring team in the 13–14 girls division. On the national stage, Jane Hedengren led the way with an All-American finish (20th place individually in the 4K race). Backed by strong runs from her Utah teammates, the RaceCats/Roadrunner hybrid team placed 4th overall in the nation for 13–14 girls. It was an impressive debut, these Utah middle-schoolers proved they could compete with the country’s best. The 2019 season laid the groundwork for the club’s culture of hard work, friendship, and big dreams.

2020, Adapting and Rising to the National Scene

2020 presented new challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal training and competition. Through the spring, the Roadrunner coaches kept athletes engaged with creative at-home workouts, virtual team chats, and solo time trials in lieu of a regular track season. Despite many track meets being canceled, the athletes steadily improved their fitness. By the summer and fall, the club had grown in numbers, more kids from around Utah Valley joined, eager for an outlet to run and compete safely. The coaches organized small intra-squad meets and time-trial races (even a downhill 2-mile test) to keep the competitive spirit alive.

When the national cross-country season arrived, the Roadrunners were ready to make their mark. In December, they traveled to the AAU National Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. The highlight was the performance of the 13–14 girls’ team. Jane Hedengren, now an 8th-grader, finished 6th overall in the 4K, a huge jump up from the previous year and firmly among the nation’s elite. Teammate Makayla Boulton also earned All-American honors with a top-25 finish. Backed by a full scoring squad (including Savannah Galbraith and others), the Roadrunner girls placed 5th in the country as a team in their age group. This was the club’s first time earning a team trophy at nationals, showing that 2019’s success was no fluke. The boys’ side was smaller but made strides as well, with athletes like Sam Clayton representing Roadrunners at regional meets. Adapting to the year’s obstacles, the club emerged from 2020 stronger, more resilient, and gaining national attention for their performances.

2021, Growth, All-Americans, and New Age Groups

By 2021, the Roadrunner Junior Club had expanded significantly. Dozens of new runners joined as in-person training resumed, and the team now included athletes across nearly every youth age division. With more experience under their belts, the Roadrunners began to shine in both track and cross-country. In the spring and summer of 2021, the club introduced its athletes to track meets around Utah. Several runners tried events from the 800m to javelin as the club encouraged everyone to explore track and field. Middle-schoolers like Jane Hedengren (now a high school freshman at Timpview) ran fast early-season times, Jane clocked around 5:00 for the mile and under 11:00 for 2 miles as a 9th-grader, hinting at bigger things to come. Many younger Roadrunners participated in local USATF and AAU track circuits, setting personal bests and even a few state age-group records.

When the fall 2021 cross-country season arrived, the Roadrunners built on their momentum. The team traveled to the AAU Cross Country National Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina, bringing athletes in multiple age divisions. It was a breakthrough nationals for the club: four Roadrunner athletes earned All-American honors by placing among the top finishers in their races. For example, 12-year-old Charlie King had a stellar run in the boys’ 11–12 3K, finishing in the top 8 to medal. His younger sister Clara King, only 8 years old, also claimed All-American status with a top-25 finish in the 7–8 year old girls’ race. These accomplishments marked the first time Roadrunners from different age groups all brought home national medals. Other strong showings came from the 9–10 girls’ division, where new talent was emerging. The club’s depth was growing, rather than a single squad, Roadrunners were now making an impact across 8 & under, 9–10, 11–12, and 13–14 age groups. The 2021 season firmly established the Roadrunner Junior Club as a rising power in youth distance running, both in Utah and nationally.

2022, Building Depth and National Experience

The year 2022 saw the Roadrunner club continue to build depth and gain valuable experience at high-level competitions. The roster of athletes grew again as the club’s reputation spread; by mid-2022, it wasn’t uncommon to see 50–60 kids at a practice, ranging from first graders to freshmen in high school. The club placed a greater emphasis on track & field development this year. A dedicated summer track program was launched, and for the first time Roadrunner athletes qualified for national-caliber track meets. Several middle school runners posted fast enough times to compete at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships and the AAU Club Championships. For instance, a handful of Roadrunners traveled to North Carolina for the Junior Olympic track meet, gaining exposure racing on college facilities against top youth from around the country. The club also hosted local all-comers meets, giving kids opportunities in sprints, hurdles, and field events, planting the seeds for a broader track and field presence.

In cross-country, 2022 was a year of valuable learning experiences. The team decided to compete in the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2019. Twelve Roadrunner athletes qualified through the regional meet and flew to College Station, Texas in December to race at the national meet hosted on the Texas A&M course. While the club didn’t bring home a trophy this time, the young runners gained confidence. Susan Hedengren, Jane’s younger sister, had a strong race in the 11–12 girls division, finishing 33rd (just shy of All-American range). In the 9–10 girls, Clara King and others improved on their previous year’s times, and on the boys’ side several new faces got their first taste of national competition. The 13–14 boys, led by emerging talent Ian Storey, competed hard in the 4K against deep fields. Every Roadrunner who ran in Texas came back motivated by the experience. The club may not have hit the podium in 2022, but it laid a foundation of national-level experience that would pay off in the coming year.

2023, Breakout Performances and First National Champion

2023 proved to be a banner year for the Roadrunners, marked by breakout performances and the club’s first-ever individual national title. The youth distance running scene in Utah was now dominated by Roadrunner athletes. In local junior high meets, Roadrunner jerseys were a constant sight at the front of the pack. During spring track, several club members turned heads with nationally ranked times. Notably, Jane Hedengren, though focusing on her high school season, continued to train with her Roadrunner roots in mind. In June 2023, Jane ran a stunning 4:36 mile and a 9:17 two-mile on the track, putting her among the top high school runners in the country. Over the summer, she would lower those marks further, signaling that a historic senior year was ahead. Meanwhile, the next generation of Roadrunners was making its own mark. At the Utah Middle School Track Championships, sixth-grader Angelina “Angie” Alder ran the 1600m in under 5:10, a time unheard of for someone her age in the state. Her teammates Oaklie Rohatinsky and Susan Hedengren weren’t far behind, each hovering around the 5:20 mark as middle-schoolers. These performances set the stage for an exciting cross-country season.

In fall 2023, the Roadrunners hit new heights at the national level. The club returned to the AAU Cross Country National Championships, held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida, with one of its largest contingents ever, 15 athletes across various age divisions. The star of the day was 11-year-old Angie Alder, who dominated the 11–12 girls 3K race. Angie pulled away from the field to win the AAU national championship for her age group, crossing the line in 11:21, a huge victory that brought the Roadrunners their first individual national title. In the same race, 11-year-old Oaklie Rohatinsky also had a brilliant run, placing 3rd among 11-year-olds (and top 10 overall among 11–12s) with a time of 11:40. Not to be outdone, 10-year-old Clara King earned a 7th place finish in the 9–10 girls division, adding another All-American medal to her collection. On the boys’ side, the Roadrunners were represented by runners like Weston Smith and Levi Payne in the 11–12 division and Ian Storey in 13–14, who all improved on their previous national placings. The Tallahassee trip was a watershed moment: multiple Roadrunners were now national medalists and even champions. Additionally, back home in Utah, club alumna Jane Hedengren was taking the high school cross-country world by storm, she won the Utah 5A state title and then went on to qualify for the Eastbay (Foot Locker) National Championships, finishing as one of the top 10 high school girls in the country. The successes of 2023 firmly put Roadrunner Junior Club on the map as one of the premier youth running programs in America.

2024, National Team Silver and a Historic NXN Victory

In 2024, the Roadrunner Club built on its momentum with even greater achievements, both for its youth athletes and its alumni on the high school stage. The club’s membership continued to swell, over 150 athletes were training with the Roadrunners by the fall, including remote members from other parts of Utah taking advantage of the club’s new online training app. The coaching staff (now about 10 volunteer coaches strong) introduced specialized training for sprinters and field events in 2024, making the team more well-rounded. A group of Roadrunner sprinters and hurdlers even competed in AAU regional track meets, a first for the club. But it was middle-distance and distance running where the club truly continued to excel. During the 2024 track season, several 8th-grade girls from the club made headlines. In March, Angelina Alder ran a mile in 5:05 at a Nike Indoor qualifier meet, a prelude to bigger things, and her teammate Susan Hedengren ran 5:10. Later that spring, Angie clocked a 2:11 800m, one of the fastest sixth-grade times in U.S. history, while Susan ran 2:15 as a seventh-grader. Meanwhile, Roadrunner alumna Jane Hedengren was rewriting record books at the high school level. In June 2024, Jane ran a 4:23.50 mile (the second-fastest mile ever by an American high school girl) and followed it up with a 14:57.93 5,000m on the track, at the time, one of the top 6 prep times in history. These remarkable performances set the stage for Jane’s final high school cross-country season that fall.

The 2024 cross-country season became one of the most celebrated in the club’s history. At the AAU National Championships in December (hosted in Charlotte, NC that year), the Roadrunners fielded their strongest girls’ squad to date in the 11–12 division. Now 12 years old, Angie Alder defended her national title in dominant fashion, winning the AAU 11–12 girls cross-country championship for the second year in a row. Angie’s time over the 3K course was 10:35, a full half-minute ahead of the competition, affirming her status as one of the country’s all-time great youth runners. Close behind, 12-year-old Oaklie Rohatinsky finished 8th in the same race, and 12-year-old Clara King came in 14th; along with 11-year-old Lee Harmon in 24th, all four girls earned All-American honors (top-25) for the second consecutive year. With their fifth scorer also in the top 100, the Roadrunner 11–12 girls team achieved a 2nd place finish overall in the club team standings, the best team result in club history. In the 13–14 girls division, Susan Hedengren made her mark as well, running the 4K in 14:57 to place 10th among the nation’s early-teen runners. Susan’s All-American finish capped off her junior high career on a high note. On the boys’ side, Roadrunner teams were represented in every age bracket; notably, the 7–8 boys won their first regional title to qualify for nationals, and in Charlotte the 15–18 boys (high school division) got a taste of national competition as well.

Even as the club’s youth were collecting medals in Charlotte, an even bigger spotlight shone on a Roadrunner alum that same weekend on the opposite coast. At the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) high school championship in Portland, Oregon, Jane Hedengren, the club’s original member, delivered a historic performance. Jane won the 2024 NXN girls’ championship race, covering the 5K course in 16:32.7 to set a new course record and beat the nation’s top high school runners by a wide margin. It was an unprecedented achievement for a Utah athlete and a testament to the training and support she had from her Roadrunner days. Jane’s national title at NXN (along with her undefeated post-season that fall) earned her recognition as Gatorade National Cross-Country Runner of the Year and a USATF Athlete of the Week honor. The Roadrunner Club celebrated Jane’s victory as inspiration for all its athletes, seeing one of their own go from local fun runs to the pinnacle of high school running was incredibly motivating. The 2024 season will be remembered as the year the Roadrunners truly arrived: a national champion youth team, a national champion alumna, and a growing program firing on all cylinders.

2025, Record-Breaking Track Milestones and Continued Growth

As the calendar turned to 2025, the Roadrunner Junior Club had grown into one of the largest youth running clubs in the country. From the humble 17 runners at its inception, the club now boasts 232 athletes in 2025 actively training and competing. The team practices year-round on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, with Saturday long runs for the older groups. With so many members, the club introduced a new group system to give individualized attention (e.g. beginner, intermediate, and advanced pods for workouts), and even rolled out a remote training option via a custom app for those outside of Provo. Under coaching leadership and the support of the volunteer staff, Roadrunners emphasizes a balance of hard training and injury prevention, incorporating core strength, plyometrics, and even AI-driven running form analysis through a partnership with BYU’s biomechanics lab. The result of this holistic approach has been nothing short of astonishing in 2025’s performances.

The 2025 indoor and outdoor track season was highlighted by jaw-dropping performances from the club’s middle school girls on the national stage. In March, a group of Roadrunners traveled to New York City for Nike Indoor Nationals at the Armory. There, 11-year-old Angelina “Angie” Alder and 13-year-old Susan Hedengren delivered a 1-2 finish in the Middle School Girls’ Mile championship. Angie won the national indoor title in a time of 4:57.63, which set a meet record and is believed to be the fastest mile ever run by an American 11-year-old girl. Right behind her, Susan ran a superb 5:02.41 to claim the silver, giving the Roadrunners the two fastest middle-school milers in the country. This performance generated buzz in running circles; within Utah, Angie and Susan became local celebrities at a very young age. The duo, along with their teammates, continued their dominance into the outdoor season. At Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon in June, Angie Alder one-upped her indoor feat by running a 4:50.52 mile to win the Middle School national title. That time was a new 6th-grade national record for the mile distance. Angie’s race was a tour de force as she led from the gun and even challenged the times of high school athletes in older sections. Oaklie Rohatinsky also qualified for Nike Outdoor and ran 5:11.18 in the mile, placing among the top ten middle schoolers nationally and setting a personal best. The Roadrunner contingent in Eugene extended beyond the distance events, for the first time, the club had a qualifier in a sprint event (an 8th-grade boy in the 100m) and a relay team in the 4x800m. It was clear that the Roadrunners were no longer just a local club; they were contributing to age-group national records and competing (and winning) on the biggest stages.

The summer of 2025 brought more accolades. Angie Alder and Susan Hedengren were both invited to the prestigious Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, where they raced against the fastest middle school and high school runners in the nation. Angie won the middle school 800m at that meet, and Susan placed third, both running under 2:10, astonishing marks for their ages. Around the same time, Roadrunner alumna Jane Hedengren capped her high school career with another record, at Nike Indoor Nationals in early 2025, Jane ran an astounding 4:26.14 mile to break the national high school indoor mile record (previously 4:27.9 by Sadie Engelhardt). She also shattered the indoor 5000m high school record, running 15:34. After graduating, Jane moved on to compete for BYU, but she remained closely connected to the club, often stopping by practices to mentor younger athletes. In fact, in the fall of 2025, Jane (now a BYU freshman) helped pace some Roadrunner workouts and cheered on her sister Susan and Angie at the Utah Junior High XC Championships, where the Roadrunner girls swept the top spots.

As the 2025 cross-country season unfolds, the Roadrunners continue to thrive. At the Utah Youth Cross-Country Championships in November, Roadrunner teams won virtually every age division. Notably, Ian Storey, an 8th-grade boys’ leader, ran 13:19 for 4K to win the state Junior Olympic title and looks poised for a top nationals finish in the 13–14 boys category. The club is preparing once again for AAU and USATF nationals in December, aiming to bring home more hardware. The community support has grown along with the club: local high school runners and coaches often volunteer at practices, and several Roadrunner parents have become assistant coaches or coordinators for team travel. In 2025, the club also inaugurated the Roadrunner Outreach Program, holding free clinics at high schools around Utah to share training tips, provide AI-based gait analysis, and inspire the next generation of runners. What started as a small neighborhood club has become a statewide movement, over 600 high schoolers have attended Roadrunner outreach sessions this year, and many credit the club’s influence for the recent boom in Utah distance running talent.

From 2019 to 2025, the Roadrunner Junior Club’s history has been defined by rapid growth, extraordinary performances, and a tight-knit team spirit. In just six years, the club has grown from 17 kids jogging around a park to 232 athletes winning national titles and setting records. Roadrunners have won national championships in cross-country and track, earned dozens of All-American honors, and even produced a Nike Cross Nationals champion and high school record-holders. Equally important, the club has fostered a love of running and camaraderie among youth of all ages and abilities. The ethos John Hedengren instilled from the beginning, having fun, working hard, and supporting each other, remains at the core of the team. As the Roadrunners look to the future, they aim to continue this rich legacy: developing champions on the course and track, and character off of it. The Roadrunner Junior Club’s journey so far is proof that with dedication, community support, and a little bit of dreaming big, a local youth club can achieve truly extraordinary things.