As students, we’re all familiar with perseverance.

According to Webster’s dictionary, the word describes the steady persistence in a course of action, in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement.

For fifth-year cross country runner Jeremy Mineau, the word epitomizes his solid, yet injury-riddled running career at the University of Washington.

As the top finisher for the Husky men at the regional meet this year, Mineau played a key role for the group’s earning of an at-large bid to nationals, where the Dawgs took 18th place last week.

Absent from the field on that cold day in Indiana, however, was Mineau. A nagging case of heel bursitis held the team’s top runner out of the race.

“It was a tough decision,” Mineau said of electing not to run. “I couldn’t make it on my own; I had to talk it over with the assistant coach. In the end, it was all about what was best for the team.”

This could be considered the now seemingly common story of Mineau’s career at the UW.

Mineau elected to attend the UW after running in high school in California.

“I started running in my freshman year in high school and found that I was pretty good at it,” Mineau said. “I stuck with it all four years of high school and now through all five years of college.”

His experience — no matter how simple he may make it out to be — has not been one typical of the average collegiate distance runner.

Mineau experienced success early on in college, making his presence felt his freshman year. He legitimized himself as one of the top young Husky runners when he qualified for the U.S. Junior Cross Country Championships.

“It was amazing,” Mineau said. “I came in fifth and then traveled with the U.S. team to France. It was pretty exciting and probably my most memorable moment as a runner.”

With his freshman season behind him, Mineau increased his training regimen as he worked to improve and develop his running. His hard work ethic was evident in his results, which weren’t overlooked by his teammates.

“I remember in our second year when Jeremy took second at the Mount Pacific Championships to Galen Rupp,” fellow fifth-year runner Jon Harding recalled. “For him to get second behind now-Olympian Rupp, man, that inspired me like crazy.”

Mineau helped lead his cross country team to nationals that same year, where he was the top finisher for the Huskies. He would repeat this feat the following season and earn himself the cross country team MVP that year.

Mineau’s extremely rigorous training was paying off and his times were dramatically reduced until everything got turned around late in his junior season. The stress of Mineau’s workouts were too much for his body to sustain, and the runner suffered a stress fracture in his sacrum — the lower part of the spine which connects to the hips.

“I was training at a higher level than I ever had before, so — although it was such a bummer — it was definitely understandable,” Mineau said.

Because nearly any movement requires the use of the sacrum, Mineau’s injury was incredibly difficult to heal. The recovery process took more than six months — a long stretch of time for an athlete to miss in a sport that requires consistency.

When Mineau returned to running, he elected to reduce his training to a fraction of what it was at the time of the injury. Naturally, it came as a shock when he suffered the same injury while using a relatively light workout routine. Mineau was forced to redshirt his entire fourth year.

“He saw it through because he loves to run,” Mineau’s mother, Diana, said. “He just kept going at [it] rather than throwing in the towel.”

After missing more than a year and a half of competitive running, Mineau returned this year to complete his final year of eligibility. With one strong run after another, one would never have guessed the senior had been out of the game for so long. His impact on the team was unmistakable as well.

“Jeremy just brings so much leadership to the team,” Harding said. “He’s got the answers to all the questions, and he’s always helping us out.”

As track season approaches, Mineau doesn’t want to be counted out just yet.

“This isn’t over yet,” he said. “This isn’t the end for me.”

Reach reporter Ben Foutz at sports@dailyuw.com.