Seven thousand eight hundred and ten miles. That's 62,844 indoor tracks straightened out and stacked next to each other. And that’s how far two of Michigan’s newest track and field stars have traveled to compete for the Wolverines.

Freshman distance runners Brendon Blacklaws and Dallas Bowden have come all the way from New Zealand to give the Michigan men's track and field team some thunder from down under.

Blacklaws hails from Wellington, the world’s southernmost capital city, located on the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. He graduated from Wellington College (a New Zealand secondary school) in 2007 and captured New Zealand U-19 titles in the 1,500m and 3,000m last year while being recruited by Michigan.

Bowden, meanwhile, comes from the small urban settlement of Hastings, in the Hawke’s Bay Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Bowden graduated from Nelson College (also a secondary school) in 2007 where he was the New Zealand U-16 cross country champion in 2006. He also holds several U-16 records in the 800m and 1,500m.

So what made these two runners from the Southern Hemisphere migrate north to Ann Arbor?

Bowden said former Wolverine runner and fellow New Zealander Nick Willis was a big influence on his decision to come to Ann Arbor.

For Blacklaws, having a fellow New Zealander recruit helped.

“With Dallas coming here as well, it made things a lot easier,” Blacklaws said.

He also credited Michigan associate coach Ron Warhurst.

“I really like the way Ron operates — he’s had success in the past and it really helped out,” Blacklaws said.

Since arriving in the U.S., both runners have faced challenges they never had to face in New Zealand.

“The competition here, the depth, is a lot bigger,” Blacklaws said. “You get into a race and there’s 20 guys running your pace rather than two.”

“First of all, we don’t have indoor competitions, that’s completely new," Bowden said. "We don’t have a single indoor track in the country.”

When it comes to competing indoors, he‘s still learning the ropes.

“The racing is a lot harder, this year has been a real learning curve for me,” Bowden said.

The changes to which these runners have had to adjust to aren't limited just to competitions, as moving halfway around the globe is bound to make a person homesick. Neither runner’s family has seen them compete since they've been at Michigan, but both say that should change in the next year and a half.

On the bright side, the transition from living in New Zealand to living in Ann Arbor has gone a little smoother every day.

“I‘m getting there, it's not a huge culture shock or anything like that,” Bowden said. “It's just the little things I’ve got to get used to.”

Both runners do have a few complaints, though.

Blacklaws said he misses all of the fresh foods that were available at home. Bowden isn’t a fan of the weather in Michigan.

“It doesn’t snow where I’m from, even in winter it's still pretty warm,” Bowden said. “I miss the weather the most.”

The ultimate goal remains the same for both — competing in the Olympics. Bowden knows he is in the right place to accomplish his goal as Warhurst has coached twelve Olympians including bronze medalists Willis and Brian Diemer.

“Ron’s had a lot of success with runners in the past here, just keep training and we’ll see how it goes,” Bowden said.