WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — "It's really awful to run by yourself, especially in distance running,” said Jackson Heidesch.
So, in his case, it helps to have somebody to run with.
“Through workouts, runs and races everything he's always there for me. Anything, running." Said Heidesch
Dowling catholic has not just one but two top 5 distance runners in the state.
"He's one of the best in the state so to have that by you every single day just makes your goals higher," said teammate, Will Ryan.
And, yes, there is some friendly competition between the two.
"It's fun to race your teammates because it's a guy you see everyday in practice and you want to beat him that much more,” said Heidesch.
Two weekends ago, Heidesch did that. He finished 1st in the Mustang Invitational at DC-G. A second behind him, Will Ryan.
"It's usually me like 90 percent of the time but there's the one occasion where he'll beat me and I’ll hear about it a lot,” said Heidesch.
That’s competition that has been brewing since well before their days at Dowling.
"I think the first time I ever met him was in chess club. We would face each other in chess tournaments and that was back in kindergarten or first grade,” said Heidesch.
From the chess board to the track ten years later, the competition remains friendly.
"It's always great to have him by me and to have him to go for it with pretty much every single day,” said Ryan
Heidesch followed, "He's just someone I’ve known 90 percent of my life and i see him every day on runs. I run a ton of miles with him, I'm always talking with him and racing with him so it's a really good friendship that's been going on for a long time."
And will continue as the two friends push each other to the top of the state.