Matthew Forrester’s left foot is covered in blood blisters. But the Butler University graduate student punched his ticket to Eugene.

Reily Rogers

Everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong for Matthew Forrester at the NCAA Division 1 East First Round.

On Friday, May 30, the graduate student from Butler University lost his left spike in the middle of the men’s 5,000 meters, running the remaining 2,000 meters with one shoe.

But the setback didn’t stop Forrester from executing the race of his career in Jacksonville, Florida.

With his foot pounding against the track for the last five laps, Forrester gutted out a seventh-place finish in 14:00.14 in the second of two heats.

He became the 12th and final runner from the east region to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Despite having massive blood blisters on his toes and the ball of his foot, the runner from Centurion, South Africa, was thrilled to make the collegiate championship for the first time ever.

“It’s cool, I like doing it [the hard] way, I suppose,” Forrester told Runner’s World. “I don’t think I’d do it again, but any way that gets you there is great.”

The performance was another highlight in what has become a breakthrough season, with a few challenging moments, for the Big East Conference champion.

In March, Forrester ran a 13:30.40 personal best in the 5,000 meters at Raleigh Relays.

Two weeks later, he ran 13:37.35 at the Bryan Clay Invitational but rolled his left ankle after starting his kick too early in the race.

For the next two weeks, Forrester alternated between cross-training on the bike and running while dealing with pain in his calf. In May, he made his debut in the 10,000 meters at the Big East Conference Championships, finishing second in 29:03.17.

Heading into the NCAA east region meet, Forrester wasn’t sure if he’d be able to advance after navigating the calf injury for much of the spring. But he still looked for advantages that could favor his skillset.

Growing up in central South Africa, where runners train in extreme heat throughout the summer, Forrester thought he’d be one of the few athletes who could handle the high temperatures in Jacksonville.

“I wanted to make it a tough race. I thought I might be stronger in the heat because I’m South African, and that some of the other guys might get a bit more stressed about that,” Forrester said.

“If I could make it as gritty as possible, we wouldn’t have to worry about all the fancy runners, we could leave it to all the tough ones at the end.”

Reily Rogers

Forrester started at the front, hoping to establish a fast pace early on.

Around 3,000 meters into the race, which he covered in 8:18.87, the 23-year-old was trying to maneuver for position within the pack when a competitor stepped on the heel of his spike.

With over a mile to go, Forrester was left to finish the race with just a sock on his left foot, the same side he injured earlier in the season. “I thought of a swear word, but I won’t say it,” Forrester said.

At first, Forrester started to panic but soon realized he was capable of maintaining the pace even under difficult circumstances.

For much of his formative years in the sport, Forrester trained on grass tracks in South Africa, where most athletes run barefoot.

Though he had to start wearing shoes when he joined the program at Butler, his experience paid off in an unexpected way.

“I thought it would be quite funny to finish the race because I always joke with my coach [Matt Roe] about letting me train barefoot because that’s how I prefer to train, and he doesn’t let me. So, I’m like, I’ve got you now, Coach Roe,” Forrester said.

Reily Rogers

With only the first five finishers earning automatic qualification out of each heat, Forrester wasn’t sure if he advanced right away.

At first, he thought he might be the first runner out of consideration based on time.

But it didn’t take long to celebrate once the results were tallied.

Heading into the NCAA championships, which start on June 11, Forrester said he’s most excited about seeing his dad, who will travel from South Africa to watch him race for the first time in five years.

His foot is also feeling much better after receiving treatment and several bandages from the team’s trainer.

Forrester said he plans to tie his shoes a bit tighter in Eugene while maintaining the same toughness that got him there.

“I’m running against some really good guys, but I think a lot of people change their perspective when it comes to national championships and kind of resign themselves to not being in the top group.

Those are the people I’ve got to take down,” Forrester said.

“If I can stay tough, it might not be an easier road, but it’ll be better than trying to run someone else’s race.”