Photo Credit Liza Larramendi
After trying multiple sports when growing up with her twin sister soccer was where she shined Heading into college Murphy was excited to see how she could improve as a competitive soccer player but soon realized that her love for the sport had died out Since sports have always been a part of her life Murphy wasn t ready to hang up her cleats just yet She decided to transfer to Santa Clara University after leaving the soccer team at Sweet Briar College Murphy walked on to Santa Clara s cross country and track teams before deciding to nish her remaining eligibility at the University of Utah 1 Step Back 3 Steps Forward By Carley Crain As a Division I track athlete at Santa Clara University Grayson Murphy knew absolutely nothing about competitive running She recalls asking her teammates the most basic components of the sport such as what running watches to try and what kinds of shoes she would need She showed up to the rst day of practice with her longest run being four miles and wearing a random pair of old sneakers Murphy had no idea what was ahead of her she simply joined the cross country team to make friends on campus and to be a part of a team Meet Saucony professional runner Grayson Murphy a star on the track trails or the road known as one of the most unique runners in the sport today Murphy was certainly a late bloomer in the running world but was able to blossom quickly thanks to her years of playing competitive soccer GM I think there is kind of a stigma surrounding transferring but it s hard when you are 18 and you think you may know what you want You grow a lot in those rst couple of years I think it s totally okay to realize that s not what you want and that you have kind of outgrown a situation I kind of had to realize that and trust what my gut was telling me and not worry about what other people may think Murphy is one of the best runners to come out of the University of Utah becoming a ve time AllAmerican with her best event being the 3000 meter steeplechase After college she joined a professional running group in Arizona but decided to leave after feeling burnt out from track racing She now trains solo in Utah while being virtually coached This decision to temporarily leave the track led Murphy to the mountains the place she has called home since She instantly found success on the trails becoming the 2019 USATF Mountain Running champion before becoming the 2019 World Mountain Running champion Skills she acquired from soccer like agility and footwork translated well to the trails The ability to run on all surfaces trail roads and track has given Murphy a great sense of freedom and challenge GM It s okay to be unique and different You don t have to take the beaten path all the time If you are willing to bet on yourself and work hard it will most likely pay off The choice to leave the track after college was ultimately the best choice for Murphy s career Murphy steeplechases Photo Credit Liza Larramendi fi fi fi fi 5
Taking a step back forced Murphy to evaluate what was important to her as well as helped her to realize the potential she still has in the sport Many wrote her off from track saying she picked up trail running because she wasn t good enough for speed work anymore but after about a two year hiatus from the track she silenced the haters and started training on the track again The postponement of the 2020 Olympics gave Murphy the perfect opportunity to get back into shape on the track while also still incorporating trail and road easy runs This past spring season she got back to work on her favorite track event the steeplechase which is a challenging event that requires a great amount of strengt h and endurance Murphy started the 2021 track season eyeing the U S Olympic Trials steeplechase qualifying standard of 9 55 00 with her main goal being having fun on the track again after her long break Every time she stepped on the track this spring she ran a personal best and was able to lower her steeplechase time to 9 25 33 Track wasn t ready to wave goodbye to Murphy She knew she had more in the tank and went for it This is a pattern Murphy has learned and followed throughout her entire career being able to trust what her gut is telling her despite outside criticism This past season for Murphy on the outside seemed picture perfect However she dealt with some of the worst performance anxiety and self doubt she has ever experienced Coming back to the track after shifting to the mountain running circuit came with a lot of pressure It was hard to ignore what people were saying about her online On a recent Instagram post she wrote about what she has learned this year GM Mixing it up and doing track trail and road races makes me feel like I don t just have to do one just because that s the expectation Doing it your own way and realizing there is no right way or wrong way is what really matters You just have to nd what works for you and what is the most fun for you There is a limited career in running so you may as well just do what s the most fun when you have the chance GM I hope that I have proved that you can be good at more than one discipline but most importantly I hope that I have proved to myself Murphy competes in a mountain race Photo Credit Izmottephoto on Instagram fi 6
that I can be proud of my accomplishments and that the opinion of haters doesn t matter and doing things out of spite is not healthy started out as just a fun side project but have evolved into a business where she can connect with runners on a more personal level inspire others to take a deeper dive into their own mental health and help promote environmental sustainability Some of the proceeds from the journals go to organizations that strive to help the environment the Protect Our Winters POW Fund and the Gallatin Valley Land Trust GVLT You don t have to take the beaten path all of the time If you are willing to bet on yourself and work hard it will GM I did not grow up calling myself a runner so for me that is one of my newer identities My other identities like engineer and entrepreneur predate running So for me those are almost more important to honor those along with the runner I try and do that with the planners and doing engineering on the side to make sure I am still those parts of Grayson too Murphy is now back training in the mountains eyeing another world title that she will have the chance to compete for this September Expect the unexpected from Grayson Murphy because nobody ever knows what she has up her sleeve That is the kind of runner she has become most likely pay off While Murphy was a little disappointed in her 6th place nish at the Olympic Trials she has been able to maintain a positive mindset while re ecting on everything she has gone through to get back to running the steeplechase A year ago she was ready to never return to the track Now she is one of the best female steeplechasers in the country A de ning characteristic of Murphy is her commitment to multiple identities both on and off the track She refuses to settle and conform to society s expectations As a professional runner her training is very different from the average female long distance athlete but she is con dent that the path she is taking is what is best for her own career GM I think I like the sense of adventure and challenge that running brings me I have learned from the sport that I am stronger than I think I can get through almost anything if I give myself a chance Murphy does not put her entire self worth into just running which has been hard since being a runner is her career but she knows she is so much more than an athlete During this past track season Murphy was working towards her master s degree in sustainable natural resources with the hopes of getting into green space planning while also actively advocating for environmental justice Not only is Murphy a world champion activist and an engineer but she is also a successful entrepreneur Her bullet journal training logs Murphy with one of her bullet journals Photo Credit Grayson Murphy fi fl fi fi 7
Photo Credits Cortney White and Getty Images
made He went for it Down the backstretch I knew from the semifinals that the backstretch would be the deciding factor for if I made the team let alone won it So I made that big move down the backstretch and honestly at 600 meters I ve had issues with getting cut off or boxed in with people there I fought off Bryce Hoppel there and didn t give up the spot We had that little shoulder check but the final 100 meters I was trying to look at the board but it was so small and far from the 100 meter start that I couldn t see it I knew people were coming with me and the crowd was going so I didn t know what was going on around me and I made that little glance over my shoulder to make sure nobody was coming on my outside shoulder Once I was clear of that I was just trying to get to the line The Nike athlete now stands as one of America s most accomplished 800 runners with two Olympic berths and an Olympic medal Yet even the best athletes are capable of being The Importance of Balance By Joe Cullen Strength and speed Openness and focus Returning home and training at an elite level In the life of Clayton Murphy balance is essential and not just the balance to stand on an Olympic podium legs ablaze with lactic acid without faceplanting This past season has been emblematic of Murphy s career as the reigning Olympic bronze medalist ran his best races at the ideal time Despite the rigors of a long collegiate season in 2016 he only got better as the moment got bigger winning the 800 meter race at the U S Olympic Trials before earning a bronze medal at Rio Likewise he rounded into form at the right time this year to win the 2021 U S Olympic Trials 800 I realized it was fast through 200 recalls Murphy I remember at 400 I was extremely impressed with Isaiah Jewett and the move he Murphy celebrates his Trials win Photo Credit Cortney White 9
Murphy breaks the tape at the Grand Blue Mile Photo Credit Phil Roeder We re completely different people especially across the 800 Expanding on his unique 800 training Murphy remarks I did a mileage workout on Monday two weeks before the Olympic prelims I don t train like a normal 800 guy I ve seen a couple guys blowing out fast sprints and I m out here running 1000s and cutdown 500s Murphy who recently moved back home to Ohio from Oregon has returned to a comfort zone with his training reuniting with his college coach Lee LaBadie There s a lot of comfort with it It s very similar but I m doing a lot more volume and a lot more intensity now than in 2016 He was very patient with me In 2016 I was still a college junior and very undertrained in high school My season in 2013 was 30 miles a week and racing I went to 50 miles a week in 2015 and 60 and some decent workouts in 2016 So I was three or four years removed from not even training I was still very undertrained at that point compared to other Olympians We ve carried that philosophy on in overlooked with most race previews focusing on the battle between Donavan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel Even in the face of this adversity Murphy maintained the same one track motivation that makes him so dangerous in championship settings I could have obviously used it negatively asking myself if I think I can do it Or I could ve ignored it completely But why not use it to put a little edge on me But I don t think that was a huge factor I tweeted months ago Nothing else matters until the Olympic Trials Final Murphy adds I always believe that I would rather have a USA title or Olympic medal over any fast time I would rather always run 1 43 as long as I m competing for a USA title or Olympic nal Having the mindset to compete with the best in America and the world is one challenge But training to be able to have that ability to dictate races against the best half milers is an entirely different beast Murphy understands his uniqueness as an 800 runner If Donavan wants to do my training or Bryce or Isaiah they re welcome to fi 10
terms of erring on the side of undertraining rather than overtraining Yet this isn t the same training that 2016 Clayton the college phenom did In uenced by his time with the now defunct Nike Oregon Project and the accumulation of mileage and strength since he was an aerobically underdeveloped 21 year old Murphy adds At the same time I used what I was able to do with Alberto on the strength side and the intensity side and carry that into these workouts I m able to do more sets and faster reps than I ve ever done But we re doing the same thing in terms of pulling it back and staying healthy As he moved across the country the Ohio native found balance in more than just his training Murphy created a popular YouTube channel started a podcast with fellow Olympian Devon Allen and opened an Instagram account for his sports trading card collection Explains Murphy of his newfound openness and transparency I was dealing with moving across the country and dealing with injuries and obviously COVID There were a lot of negative things pulling me away from social media and engagement with people So I decided to try something different show who I am more and show the inside of my training I think a lot of people are hidden about their training that if they give away what they re doing they ll give away their secrets Beyond the training videos which have become hits in the running world to the tune of almost 300 000 cumulative views he is excited to give fans a greater glimpse into his personal life I m going to start sharing a lot more like Ari Murphy his wife tries to go gol ng with me or that I picked up shing again For an athlete to be ring on all cylinders it requires more than peak physical shape They must be in the right place mentally and emotionally And for Murphy who is now home unabashedly showing the world who the real Clayton Murphy is it is clear that he is locked in Many people looked foolish betting against Murphy before the Olympic Trials but it is never too late to learn Murphy wins a race in a NOP uniform Photo Credit Phil Roeder fl fi fi fi 11
Photo Credit University of Arkansas
Skeptical at first with the idea of helping start a new group coach Alistair Cragg helped shift Werner s outlook and she remains excited at the prospect of helping further US distance running Seidel and Aisha Praught Leer join the brand Werner has no regrets taking this untrodden path She speaks with true authenticity and honesty sharing her love of the Puma NITRO shoe line and she really feels like their shoe technology is on par with all the other big brands TW He just twisted my perspective and was like how do those groups start Bowerman started with Shalane Flanagan and it was one girl with the New Balance group it starts with one person and then you get someone else and someone else and that s how it builds As to Puma being the title sponsor Werner had her reservations there too TW I was really nervous at first because I d only ever run in Asics Nike and a little bit in New Balance shoes before I never even knew they Puma had running shoes when you go to a running store there are no Puma shoes in sight it s just not a thing Puma sent us their new shoes and I love them they re great shoes TW I was like have you ever met a Puma distance runner in the past 10 years I ve never heard of them Puma it s all pole vaulters sprinters and the Jamaican team Reassured that Puma was really investing in distance running and seeing Olympians Molly Werner s favorite shoes Puma Eternity NITRO for easy runs Puma Deviate NITRO for longer faster runs for tempos and intervals Werner after her first US Title and professional win Photo Credit University of Arkansas 14
We should all be keeping an eye out for Puma now as Werner teases that they are developing spikes and racing ats that could rival and even better the current super shoes In a sneak peak we got the impression that this group is only getting started and that the roster may soon be expanding With Amy and Alistair Cragg heading up this Puma group you can t help but wonder whether these two distance running legends join Werner and her teammates on runs TW Puma is creating a shoe that s going to be in competition with those Right now they ve given me prototypes to test and give feedback and while we don t have the nished shoe yet there s a great shoe that s coming But I hate that that s a thing because I had some great performances this year maybe not like what I wanted but in a normal shoe Puma really seems to be growing in the right direction Deservedly so Werner feels spoiled by the brand and only speaks highly of the care and attention they ve shown her and this new training group With access to a variety of therapists great healthcare professionals a high performance gym and indoor practice facility alongside nancial support athletes in this group are set up to succeed Werner and her teammates really feel valued by the brand and she explains how Puma are designing their shoes and gear speci cally to their needs TW They bike with us sometimes Amy wants to get healthy again because marathon training has been rough for her and once Alistair stopped running he stopped for good He s tried to do a couple evening runs with us and his form is still amazing From a small town in Missouri Werner feels at home in her suburban setting outside of Raleigh North Carolina where the group is based TW I love it here because it does remind me of home There s a city feel near Raleigh but there s also a lot of wildlife and nature The next few years bring back to back athletic championships and after having some incredible runs at the US Olympic Team Trials nishing 11th in the 5000 nal Werner plans to learn and grow from this experience Watch out Taylor Werner is on the rise TW We went to Puma North America HQ in Boston and they measured us and tted us with really nice gear They wanted our opinion on everything and they really care What I love most about these people that we re working with is that they truly care and want us to succeed You can feel that with the way we interact with them and in the way they reach out to me nearly every race They watch it on the livestream and I just feel so supported Small but star studded this Puma group roster also includes Fiona O Keefe Stephen Fahey and Emmanuel Rudolph Day in and day out Werner has O Keefe by her side and the two seem to complement each other really well TW I just have Fiona and we re like yin and yang We both have the same drive mentality and the same high goals But her strengths and my strengths are the complete opposite so it actually works out really well Werner s roster picture from her time at Arkansas Photo Credit University of Arkansas fi fi fi fi fi fl fi 15
in the sense that anyone was making me do it but in the sense that I had to do it for myself Being a Division I runner always seemed to carry such an important status with it it s the kind of thing you tell people about yourself that makes them oooo and ahhhh as if you just told them you got into an impressive college or scored a highlevel job and as I prepared to begin the tryout a part of me certainly wondered if it was my desire to impress others that served as the primary fuel behind my motivation It wasn t until the following Tuesday after having completed the first workout that any doubt about my true motivations were finally erased It was clear to me that a motivation purely based on a desire to impress others wouldn t have gotten me much further than the first day The first day of the tryout began with a warmup followed by dynamic stretches then a six mile general run somewhere around seven minute pace with the two other 800 meter guys already on the team and ended with four hard strides and some cool down stretching My roommate and I My Walk On Story By Jack Balick On a humid Monday morning in late August my roommate and I woke up at 6 AM to the sound of our phones alarms simultaneously echoing throughout our dorm room We both sleepily silenced our phones and crawled out of bed to begin changing into our running clothes Neither of us said a word as we were both far too tired and nervous to detract from our silent contemplation of what the next few hours would hold It was the first day of classes of our freshman year but our anticipation was fixated on something else that morning also marked the beginning of a 14 day tryout for walking on to the University of Pittsburgh s track team At this point I hadn t given too much thought to why it was that I wanted so badly to run for Pitt it just simply felt like something that I had to do not Balick competes for Pitt Photo Credit Pitt Athletics 17
stood on the turf field having just completed our first day feeling great That wasn t so bad That sentiment seemed to be the theme of the conversation as we walked back to our dorm to get ready for class We both began to relax and start thinking about what it was going to be like when we finally made the team Our confidence had increased tenfold and along with it so did our ignorance it wasn t until the following day when we were rudely brought back to reality We arrived at the track facility at 6 40 AM that Tuesday morning in the pouring rain and congregated with the rest of the tryouts while we waited for those already on the team to come upstairs from the locker room By 6 45 the last team member had made their way up to the indoor track and we were all set to begin the warmup a roughly mile and a half long jog to a local outdoor track with a kilometer long oval dirt trail at this point now turned to mud as consequence of the rain surrounding it For the 12 men out of the group with their names already on the roster they were simply on their way to a workout a typical run of the mill tempo no different from the hundreds of workouts they had done before and the hundreds they would go on to do throughout the rest of their running careers But for me and the other tryouts we were on our way to what could only be described as a twisted race To win meant to hang on to the front group a feat that would only keep your name in the running but certainly not solidify anything and to lose meant falling off or in runners terms getting dropped and thereby losing any probable shot of making the team After arriving at the track we went through some short dynamic stretches and ran some strides before splitting off into our mid distance and distance groups Our mid distance group found our spot on the beginning mark of the kilometerlong trail and stood in a tightly compact group with our heads tilted down towards our watches as the rain continued to pelt us The cross country coach came around to our left and calmly said all right boys here we go Haillllll to Pitt He clicked the start button of his stopwatch on the last syllable as we simultaneously started our watches and bolted off the line We were running five laps of the oval trail at a hard effort pace as instructed by the coach I had no idea what our actual pace was going to be for the workout and the ambiguity only added to my already preexisting lack of confidence given my extremely limited experience with racing any distance longer than an 800 but I tried to shift my focus to the present moment Just hold on I kept telling myself All you have to do is just hold on As we finished the first mile my watch buzzed and flashed the number 5 32 Ok I m feeling good We continued on the group still intact trying our best to dodge the large puddles that were now forming on the trail but usually just ending up splashing the muddy rainwater all over our legs Soon my body started to feel a bit heavier and my breathing started to lose its consistency My smooth under control feeling was beginning to fade not dramatically but noticeably enough I checked my watch hoping to see that we were just a few meters from mile two but to my disappointment the small numbers on the third row read 1 55 As I looked around at the others in the group my mind started to race They all look fine I thought to myself How the hell are they not hurting like me right now I started to feel panicked and couldn t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into Balick races a relay Photo Credit Pitt Athletics 18
My mind continued to spiral into a negative direction until nally one member of the group started to lose contact Immediately I woke back up Just hang on I returned to telling myself It s still possible Soon we hit mile two and again my watch buzzed ashing 5 34 across the screen The pace had slowed slightly but my condition was still worsening Within a minute and some change another member of the group began to lose contact and I found myself as the only tryout still with the front group By this point my body was beginning to hurt almost everywhere my lungs legs and even arms were all screaming and the pace was only increasing but my awareness of being the only tryout still with the pack was enough to keep me going I checked my watch neurotically every minute watching the distance slowly increase each time until the small numbers nally read 2 62 and I looked up to see we only had 1 more lap of the trail left As we rounded the bend I forced my stride to open up now feeling like I was practically sprinting to keep up with the pack My breathing had turned into a mess as I hardly felt like I was getting any air into my lungs at all and my legs and arms were now burning with every stride but I knew even if I wanted to I couldn t stop now As we rounded the next corner my watch buzzed again reading 5 21 You re so close I told myself Just Hang On Even the voice in my head sounded out of breath at this point We hit the nal stretch and marched to the nish line stopping our watches as we slowed to a jog I hunched over my knees gasping for air feeling absolutely destroyed I had never hurt like that before Training up to that point for me had always consisted of fast reps with ample rest time which I would certainly argue to be a signi cantly less painful workout style and here I was in what was supposed to be an average training session feeling as though I had just run the race of my life for 5000 meters It was a rude awakening to say the least but as I stood on the trail soaking wet covered in mud and still hardly able to catch my breath I couldn t help but feel even more so that I just had to make this team At that point I knew that if I was able to hurt that bad and still want it even more then the fuel behind my motivation had to be my intrinsic desire to continue to pursue that very thing that made me hurt To end my running career at that point just didn t feel like an option I had already fallen in love too deeply with the sport and that includes the pain nerves early mornings sore muscles and all the other things I thought I hated As I progressed through the rest of the 14 day tryout I held a new perspective a perspective that allowed me to appreciate and enjoy the various challenges that waited for me instead of dreading them I realized that without a love for running there was no reason to be showing up to the tryout at all I m here because I want to be I told myself Not because I need to be After nally making the team and becoming a Division I runner I realized that not only was I willing and able to suffer through the sea of adversity that every collegiate runner inevitably faces but I was delighted just to have the adversity Balick races Photo Credit Pitt Athletics fi fi fi fl fi fi fi 19
slightly jaded There are moments in my career that I will always look back with a feeling of what if because of various NCAA actions I will never know what I could have accomplished because of these several unexplained decisions that in different ways kept me from competing While I am grateful for the opportunities I had running for Virginia Tech I am hoping that improved transparency and communication between the NCAA and the athletes will help future competitors end their careers without looking back and feeling regret A discretionary NCAA decision significantly impacted the Fall 2019 Regional Cross Country Championships To understand the gravity of the NCAA decision it is important to provide background on how teams are selected to advance to the national championship race Ac ro s s t h e c o u n t r y n i n e re g i o n a l championship meets are held where the top two teams automatically qualify for the national race and thirteen additional teams are chosen as atlarge bids by the NCAA committee NCAA Inconsistencies A Personal Account By Sarah Edwards I ve spent 5 years competing as an NCAA Division I track and field athlete Too many times I found the future of my career hinging on a discretionary decision made by the NCAA Every time the NCAA used its discretion to make seemingly arbitrary and mostly unexplained decisions that irrevocably changed my college track and field experience I have felt that the NCAA has not prioritized its track and field athletes and I know I am not alone in that feeling My experiences evidence the need for standardization of the NCAA decision making process increased transparency and improved communication between the NCAA and its athletes Now that my career is over I feel proud of what I accomplished but I also can t help but feel Edwards celebrates her second consecutive ACC Indoor Mile title Photo Credit Virginia Tech Athletics 21
During the fall 2019 regional championships unusual weather circumstances affected the Northeast regional race Due to the excessive snowfall the race could not be run at the University of Buffalo s cross country course as planned Instead the NCAA decided that the race would be run as a road race not over a cross country terrain that all other regions would be competing on No adjustments were made to the quali cation standards for that region despite the completely different racing conditions All teams across the country had been training throughout the fall season to compete on the uniquely challenging soft surface that is inherent in a cross country race a surface that is wildly different from asphalt It appeared that teams which may not have otherwise quali ed bene tted from the change of race conditions These unexpected team results had a substantial effect on how the at large bids were chosen in all regions including the Southeast region where the Virginia Tech team placed third and yet was not chosen to advance to the national meet To teams across the country it seemed that the Northeast teams had an advantage over the rest of the regions by running their race on asphalt Five Northeast teams moved onto the national meet And while it can never be known how the situation would have ended up had all regions run on a cross country course the playing eld ultimately was not even and fair across all regions I ll never know whether Virginia Tech could have been chosen at large for the national championship All I know is that signi cant changes in racing conditions were made for some teams yet no changes in quali cation standards were made This was not the only time that the NCAA has made a sweeping discretionary decision that has impacted my ability to compete The global COVID 19 pandemic rst affected my athletic career in March of 2020 when the Indoor National Championship Track Field Meet was cancelled the day before it was scheduled to begin The 2020 outdoor season was cancelled on the same day Given the gravity of the health implications of this disease cancelling the meet and the spring season was understandable However the NCAA decided not to grant back eligibility to competing athletes whose indoor seasons were abruptly terminated These competitors did not have the opportunity to compete for a national title or AllAmerican honors Edwards at NCAA DI Indoor Nationals 2019 Photo Credit Virginia Tech Athletics This decision does not make sense in light of the NCAA s policy on eligibility for the 2020 2021 cross country and track and eld seasons Despite the fact that both cross country and indoor track held national championships for the 2020 2021 seasons athletes in each sport were able to compete throughout the entirety of each season without losing their eligibility The NCAA s reasoning behind this decision was to support athletes whose seasons may have been affected by COVID 19 Given this reasoning the discretionary choice to not allow 2020 indoor track athletes to fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi 22
retain eligibility makes no sense Our indoor season was drastically affected by the pandemic too but the NCAA never gave me back the chance to compete for my last indoor national title It feels that the NCAA made this decision to be easiest for the organization and not thinking about the athletes rst Lastly the NCAA had a pivotal role in the devastating end to my collegiate career After facing health setbacks from the COVID vaccine I trained rigorously to qualify for the Regional Championships This was my last opportunity to earn a spot to compete for a national title I felt ready I arrived in Jacksonville for the qualifying meet nally feeling healthy and excited to race My mom and sister even came all the way to Florida from Massachusetts to cheer me on I breezed through the preliminary race and moved onto the quarter nal feeling con dent and ready to compete I was just over four minutes away from a ticket to Eugene The gun went off and I got myself into a good position but there was a lot of jostling and a lot of contact between the runners Elbows touched Feet clipped each other I knew that the race would string out soon and with 800 meters to go girls started to make moves The girl in front of me was barely holding on and people were coming up from behind me moving on the outside All of a sudden I was on the ground I was stunned The shock of it all delayed me for a second maybe two maybe a half It was hard to tell From the ground I watched my competitors run away with my hopes of making it to Eugene with everything I had worked so hard for I felt like I could cry But I didn t I got up and ran for my life As I pushed forward I counted how many girls I would have to pass from last place I knew I couldn t reach the front pack but I thought just maybe I could qualify on time I just needed to get seventh place to have a chance With under 10 meters to go after having chased down and run by girl after girl and made it into 7th place I was passed I crossed the nish line knowing that my career was over After the race and through the tears and the anger I heard my coach tell me that they are protesting the race results The girl who knocked me to the ground was disquali ed for a The NCAA should be promoting an athlete rst mentality While eligibility was granted back to cross countr y and indoor track athletes for the 2020 2021 year eligibility was not granted back to outdoor 2021 athletes even though the outdoor season began just two weeks after the indoor season ended If the NCAA s sincere goal was to support athletes whose seasons were affected by COVID then eligibility would have been granted back for outdoor athletes too The state of the pandemic had not radically changed from the end of the indoor season to the beginning of the outdoor season And my team faced several hardships because of COVID The vaccine was just becoming available in Spring 2021 some athletes were able to get it before others while some had to wait and remain unprotected Many of my teammates got sick and practices got cancelled to keep us safe We even withdrew from a meet due to team illnesses Additionally some of those athletes who did get the vaccine experienced side effects that halted our training These side effects left me feeling almost as sick as I did following brain surgery back when I was 14 years old and I was unable to complete workouts for two weeks I think that I would consider my season affected by COVID but for some reason the NCAA did not Apparently it was easier and less messy for the NCAA to grant just three seasons of eligibility back The potential complications of allowing more athletes whose seasons were irreparably harmed by this global disease proved too much for the NCAA to sort out fi fi fi fi fi fi fi 23
flagrant impediment and the next individual was advanced At 13th place I was one spot away from qualifying for nationals 0 03 seconds kept me from Eugene The NCAA Committee heard my case the following week I was not advanced The Committee relied on a rule added in 2019 that caps the number of athletes that can qualify from the quarterfinal to the semifinal at 12 If I had been tripped in the preliminary race in Jacksonville I would have been advanced to the quarterfinal If it had happened in the semifinal in Eugene I would have been advanced to the final And in fact it did happen Brooke Fazio of Richmond was automatically advanced to the 800 meter final after she tripped and finished last in the semifinal This rule only applies to the national quarterfinal to maintain the capped field sizes I can t help but question the utility of this rule and its rigid application In plenty of other situations the NCAA has retained the discretion to make decisions that allow athletes to advance based on adverse circumstances In my situation I clearly would have qualified based on my time had I not been tripped Why must the field size for the semifinal be capped and not the final The rule and the rigid callous way it was applied to my situation seems arbitrary I gave years of my life to this sport and to the NCAA just to have them end my career without a second thought I m not the only athlete whose career has been affected by NCAA decision making Moving forward the organization should listen to its athletes and make well needed changes to improve transparency and communication The decisions the organization makes regularly have real meaning to the athletes that it purports to support The NCAA must consider the gravity of its choices and how it affects these athletes We devote our bodies and minds our lives to our sports and to this organization which is supposed to support us The NCAA should be promoting an athlete first mentality and improved transparency and communication would be a step in the right direction Edwards holds the trophy as the Hokies win the ACC Indoor title in 2019 Photo Credit Virginia Tech Athletics 24
Photo Credit Hard Times AC Instagram hardtimesac
Hard Times and Resilient Solutions By Jack Balick As the fall of 2020 approached emails quickly filled the inboxes of college students around the country explaining how their upcoming semesters would be impacted by the still ever so present pandemic For some school would only look slightly different with the ability to live on campus attend in person classes and participate in intercollegiate sport competition still remaining intact however for others the following semester and even year would look much less familiar as many schools called off their in person classes canceled their sports seasons and even prevented students from being able to return to campus As the cross country athletes of these schools read their emails the prospect of remaining at home continuing to take classes via Zoom from the same bedrooms they had occupied for the past five months the routine of logging solitary miles on the same routes they had already run hundreds of times and missing out on the chance to compete for yet another three seasons quickly began to set in as a reality Pomona College freshmen Bennett BoothGenthe and Lucas Florsheim were among those cross country athletes whose schools would not be returning to campus in the fall Our school told us we re not coming back in the fall and we were like dang that s a huge bummer says Booth Genthe so Lucas hit up a bunch of the freshmen and was like yo we should get a place for the fall Af ter a shor t period of planning and researching Florsheim along with seven of his fellow incoming freshman teammates ended up in an Airbnb in Bend a small city in central Oregon complete with beautiful mountains lakes and hiking running trails We were only doing time trials out there no official races says Florsheim Hard Times AC logo Photo Credit Hard Times AC Instagram hardtimesac but we were moving out for the first time which is kind of a big deal It was certainly far from your typical college experience but despite the abnormal circumstances Florsheim and his teammates had managed to avoid eight more months of sitting at home going through all of the trials and tribulations of freshman year in solitude It was just a blast says Florsheim we were doing lots of traveling lots of camping lots of running and we all had really great seasons with our time trials The decision to go off on their own training racing and attending school virtually without any external help or guidance had fortunately paid off So when the spring semester began to near the decision was made to double down and get a new place this time with an even larger group in the southern town of Asheville North Carolina We knew we didn t want to go back and we decided we wanted to move somewhere else so Bennett suggested North Carolina says Florsheim We knew there d probably be some races we could get into just because the south is a little bit more relaxed so we ended up moving to Asheville and that s kind of where our group really formed The group that is now known as the Hard Times Athletic Club a name inspired by the unmistakably hard times provided by the COVID 19 pandemic now came to fruition The Hard Times AC boys and one girl had relocated and this time were looking for more than just measly time trials after almost a year without competing they were hungry to step on the line of 26
We were happy to just have opportunities to race says Florsheim So when you have that mindset it takes a little bit of pressure off Like I d look down and I m wearing an all white singlet with nothing on it and all these guys next to me are in their team jerseys and I m just on the line like I didn t know it was possible I could be here If you told me you didn t have to be an NCAA athlete to race at the University of South Carolina I wouldn t have believed you The past year was lled with adversity for the Hard Times AC crew but because of their resiliency they were able to turn the misfortune of the pandemic and a canceled season into an undoubtedly productive and rewarding experience As Booth Genthe Florsheim and their teammates prepare to return to campus in the fall of 2021 they will be returning with a new tenacity and appreciation for one another With the ability to transition to a normal collegiate running experience who can tell what the Pomona Pitzer team will be able to accomplish It s kind of like taking a weighted vest off says Booth Genthe Just once everything gets easier I think we re gonna be ripping dudes heads off You can follow Booth Genthe Florsheim and their teammates hardtimesac on Instagram where they post updates on their training and racing Lucus Florsheim Ian Horshurgh Dash Lipsey Jake Ballantine and Saha Piccioto run in the snow Photo Credit Hard Times AC Instagram hardtimesac fi fi fi fl fi fi 27 fi fl a genuine track meet and truly put their tness to the test However putting together an outdoor track season without the backing of an of cial institution is no easy task The whole year we didn t have any athletic facilities we didn t have any trainers we re jumping fences sneaking onto tracks we have a mattress right here on the oor I lived in a van in the parking lot says Booth Genthe laughing We re paying to get into unattached races emailing meet directors paragraphs begging them to let us in getting tested to secure entry we re driving four to ve hours to races You just kind of have to make do with what you ve got Despite all of the trouble that came with living and racing in Asheville there was never a moment of hesitation On paper it sounds crazy says Booth Genthe But it just made so much sense at the time It was just a no brainer that we were going to get all crammed into this house and every weekend go to South Carolina to get Lucas into a 5k or New Jersey to get me into a mile Yeah when we were telling people our plan in the winter they were like you re not gonna be able to do this Florsheim chimes in We were just like well we re gonna try Surprisingly the circumstances provided BoothGenthe and Florsheim with what they described as a sort of edge when it came to racing Our mentality going in was like ok we might race once and then the pandemic might get worse and they might stop allowing unattached athletes says Florsheim You never know when your last race of the season is so the whole time it was just kind of meet to meet By seeing every race as a rare and eeting opportunity Booth Genthe Florsheim and their teammates never had a reason to hold anything back Every race was a championship meet In addition to seeing every meet as possibly the last Booth Genthe and Florsheim also described a feeling of a lack of pressure when it came to racing something you probably wouldn t expect when stepping onto the line of track meet and being the only athlete lacking an of cial team af liation
Photo Credit Caroline Bowe
A Rundown with UVA Women s XC Class of 2025 By Oval Staff With four incoming freshmen women under five minutes in the mile or 1600 meter the University of Virginia has cemented its position as one of 2021 s best distance recruiting classes Mia Barnett Sophie Atkinson Margot Appleton Luci Lambert Caroline Bowe and V ronic Boire make up this star studded class and their accomplishments are impossible to overlook From state championships to nationally leading times these women each have their own strengths as UVA coach Vin Lananna curated a class with both depth in numbers and range This summer the group of freshmen spent a week in Boulder Colorado getting to know one another and training together With the help of Caroline Bowe we were able to get a look inside what these women were thinking as they are headed into their freshman year in Charlottesville With about a month until move in each of these girls is excited about a different aspect of their future life Appleton from Mattapoisett Massachusetts looks forward to a positive team atmosphere while Bowe from Midlothian Virginia the only native Virginian coming into the women s XC team is amped about the program s bright future Lambert from Atherton California is excited to have fast training partners and Boire from Saint Jean sur Richelieu Canada anticipates being a part of the competitive Atlantic Coast Conference The transition to college is not without its stressors though which Atkinson from Katy Texas addresses saying she is most nervous about school and having to balance academics and training According to US News and World Report s 2021 ranking of National Universities https www usnews com best colleges rankings nationaluniversities UVA ties with Carnegie Mellon University to be ranked 26th among universities in The freshman class of women is pictured with Katie Rainsberger and Dani Jones Photo Credit Caroline Bowe the United States Academics of this level especially when combined with three seasons of Division I competition will certainly be an adjustment though nothing these women can t handle With only one incoming freshman woman from Virginia on the XC team the vast majority of this class of 2025 is heavily built with athletes who are travelling far from home which begs the question of what drew you to UVA Barnett from La Crescenta California gave some insight as to why she chose UVA saying that Coach Vin and Coach Nicole drew me to UVA They have a great vision for our program Her answer also hints at Bowe s excitement for the future of UVA XC and Track We can only imagine the excitement these women feel following Michaela Meyer s success this past year but on top of that each of these incoming athletes has had their own successes 29
launching quite a few of them into the national spotlight While reflecting on being a part of such a talented incoming class Atkinson said that seeing our class have success this year has inspired and motivated me She went on to reiterate her excitement for the team UVA is located in Charlottesville Virginia a town with a vibrant life outside of the college Boire spoke on this saying she looks forward to the sense of community that Charlottesville itself has as she prepares to spend the next four years there Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains Charlottesville offers hiking natural swimming holes and beautiful views close to campus Not to mention the fact that it is considered a foodie town every runner s dream To round out our questions with this talented class we asked them what their goals for the year were Each of them agreed that they seek to be very competitive on the ACC and national scene while cultivating a strong team culture We are sure they will do just that Best of luck to these women and the rest of the Wahoos as they head into the 2021 2022 school year The group prepares for a run in Boulder Photo Credit Caroline Bowe 30
Having that support system from her twin brother pushed Paladino to continue running and ultimately make it her career The Biggest Return of Any Investment MP He has always been a large influence and despite his own running to focus on he has always been a big big fan It was always a family affair when we would travel to meets Many times in Paladino s career however she has questioned if running is the right thing for her Feelings of unworthiness and self doubt were oftentimes in the back of her mind but the different kinds of relationships she has made throughout her years of running have pushed her to keep lacing up her spikes and training for her big dreams By Carley Crain It was one of the hottest days Eugene Oregon has ever seen The track was scorching hot but it was time to race the biggest meet of the year the final test to see who would make it to Tokyo Sweat was trickling down her back and the nerves were kicking in Standing beside American record holder Karissa Schweizer and behind Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen added to her feelings of is this really happening and am I fast enough to be in this race The gun went up go time As a professional runner self worth and identity can easily be centered on the amount of wins teams made and medals one collects It can be hard to avoid that mindset in such a highly individualized competitive sport where sometimes one s livelihood and stability is determined by the amount of wins or races run New Balance star Millie Paladino has certainly had her ups and downs with running but even during times of uncertainty about leaving the sport running always has found a way back to her MP Even back in middle school I remember MP Especially at this level everyone is so unbelievably good In the finals at the Olympic Trials the people who I have been lining up with for years have been the people I have looked up to for inspiration It s almost like I never saw myself on this level and so to line up and to race with them is a whole new game In the Paladino family running is the way of life Her mother and older sister were runners themselves whic h created an athletic and competitive family culture from the start During middle school Paladino tried a lot of different sports to see what suited her best but ultimately running was the one that stuck Her twin brother Andrew also decided to start running at the same time which only made their relationship stronger From the start of the school day to the end they were always together whether it was eating lunch together in the cafeteria or running on the track Paladino and her brother at a meet in Boston Photo Credit Millie Paladino sitting with my best friend at the last cross country meet of the season and us being like we re not going to do this next year we ll just join freshman year Then throughout high school I learned to love the sport and I got pretty good at it After a successful high school career and becoming one of West Virginia s most decorated high school runners Paladino and her brother became separated for the first time as he chose to run at Syracuse and she decided to stay local at West Virginia University WVU Being in close proximity to her family and friends was comforting 32
but after two years at WVU she was losing her passion for the sport and wasn t in a good spot mentally After watching Providence College PC star Molly Huddle in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games she knew transferring to PC was the right decision to further her running career and spark her passion for the sport again Changing her environment was the exact thing that Paladino needed PC not only introduced her back to the sport she loves but also to her boyfriend Robert who has been one of her biggest fans throughout her career She was now a part of a highly recognized collegiate running program with past alumni such as Emily Sisson and Molly Huddle Being a part of this culture created that sense of belonging she was seeking for so long Those feelings of unworthiness and selfdoubt were slowly going away Paladino became one of the best runners to come out of PC winning numerous conference titles and becoming an NCAA DI All American in the mile During her senior year the idea of going professional was soon becoming a reality After graduating she signed with New Balance and stayed in Providence with her college coach Training like a college athlete without actually being a student athlete felt awkward and out of place Paladino knew she had to make another change which guided her to Team New Balance Boston She was soon training with some of the best American distance runners such as Elle Purrier St Pierre and Heather MacLean Ever since running and training in Boston her love for the sport has only grown and her teammates have become some of her closest friends MP We really invest in each other s success and we really look out for each other At the end of the day we re good friends not just teammates When we get on the track and do workouts we are teammates but when we just spend time together we are friends It s the best part of my day to see them every day They inspire me to push myself and set higher goals for myself Paladino in her time at Providence Photo Credit Catarina Rocha 33
Training in Boston also reminds her of her mother who used to spend a lot of time running in the city In an Instagram post Paladino described how much this means to her this sport has brought her is what she values the most as well as what keeps her running The ashy medals and wins are great in the moment but at the end of the day what is more ful lling MP My mom lived in Boston years ago and ran in some of the same spots I get to run today so walking around the streets of my new home helps me feel a little more connected Con dence has been one of the hardest parts of being a professional runner for Paladino especially when lining up for a race with some of the world s best Questions like am I good enough to be here and do I deserve to be in this race have of ten consumed her thoughts Being surrounded by such a supportive group of young women has helped reframe her mindset Setting bigger goals on the track does not seem as scary anymore Without running some of the best relationships she has in her life would either be non existent or just not the same The experiences and memories MP Something I feel like I have had to learn in this professional world is where I get my ful llment from and I really get mine from the interpersonal relationships I have and the people in my life While running is one of my biggest passions and I am so lucky to do this I don t always get ful llment in the day to day and so it s important to have teammates and an amazing coach to be there in the small moments That is where I nd my ful llment After running at her rst Olympic Trials and running a personal best of 15 19 in the 5000 meters this season Paladino is excited to build on her successes from this year and continue to get stronger throughout the fall Change can be overwhelming and scary but as Paladino has learned it can change everything for the better Paladino and her New Balance Boston teammates Photo Credit Richie Bertrand fl fi fi fi fi fi fi fi 34
RD We had a hill day which I got through we had a fartlek day which I got dropped on the last one and then we had a tempo day where I got a little bit crushed Those guys are so good at that elevation because Thomas is from Utah and Cole is from Highlands Ranch in Colorado so they were just a lot more comfortable at the high elevation When I was redlining they were just at their threshold level It was kind of a unique experience because I came from the beach so I went from 0 to 9000 feet meanwhile 9000 ft is where they re comfortable at and they re just better than me I think the biggest time I felt it was late in workouts because those guys have had a year of college training at higher mileage and getting ready for bigger distances so they were much better when it came to the nal two reps of a workout or when it started to get really tough in the later miles of a tempo Preseason Camp with Robert DiDonato For the past two summers some of the nation s top young talent in distance running have met up in the mountains of Colorado for a completely selforganized altitude training camp We sat down with Stanford University commit Robert DiDonato about his experience at the training camp and how he expects the experience to bene t him as he prepares to enter his true freshman year this coming fall The Oval Can you give us an overview of the training camp you just completed Robert DiDonato Yeah It was from July 8th to the 31st It was up at around 9000 ft in Colorado It was like 50 minutes outside of Boulder We had an Airbnb of a total of 15 guys but guys were kind of coming and going but yeah it was a combination of guys from Stanford UNC UVA and Harvard It was a great group It was kind of built off the group we had last year and it was a lot of fun TO How did the training camp have an effect on your mentality when it came to your summer training as you re getting ready for your rst year at college RD Yeah it was awesome because I was with my teammates Cole Sprout and Thomas Boyden and we were doing the same workouts It was really great just to see where those guys were in terms of tness They re both altitude guys and they re both in just really spectacular shape right now coming off the great track season they had It was really exciting to see who do I have to chase over the next four years and kind of seeing what the next level looks like and what those guys who are considered good NCAA guys look like TO How did you compare to your teammates on the runs and workouts DiDonato and teammates on a run Photo Credit Robert DiDonato fi fi fi fi 36
I got back to sea level I was training at a much higher level than I was before and I got to push forward from that which is what I think will happen this year I don t think that kind of supercharged window you get from coming back from altitude will stay the whole cross season but I de nitely think the bene t of the three weeks I ll get from being up there I ll really feel When I got up there I was still getting back into training and now I think I m kind of getting to a place where I m in really good shape and I don t think the same could ve happened down here The bene t might wear off but I don t think that it s just gonna be lost in a month s time TO What was it like adjusting to the altitude and how do you expect your altitude training to bene t you TO Can you kind of break down the numbers of your training during your camp What were your paces for your runs how did you break down your mileage in a given week day RD What we would typically do is a Sunday long run and then throughout the week we d have a couple double days where we d do something early in the morning before it d get hot and then like ve in the afternoon and those would be done at anywhere from 6 10 7 minute pace depending on what we had the day before and what we had the next day On long run days we d get under 6 minute pace We typically start out our runs pretty slow just to mitigate the risk of injury so even if we would get down to 5 40 pace at the end of a long run we d typically start pretty slow DiDonato and teammate Photo Credit Robert DiDonato RD I was pretty intense from the start I didn t really have that much of a problem with adjusting to the altitude just because I kind of built up through my time in Colorado I started at 50 miles per week and now I m at 75 miles per week so I kind of progressed as I got acclimated which was nice I had one run it was a long run where I got really oxygen depleted and I felt pretty sick afterwards just from the altitude but I didn t have any altitude sickness or any crazy struggle on any runs where the oor fell out from under me TO I know that a lot of the kids at that camp were on a very elite level did that create a very intense environment at the camp or was it a surprisingly relaxed social environment RD Everybody trains really hard but then everyone gets along so well that it s just so naturally fun Everyone just wants to be together and run together and have fun together so there was never any friction between the different training groups It wasn t like people were locked away in their rooms during the day after the run something was always going on it was constant activity throughout the day TO Are you expecting a major physiological bene t from your altitude training Or are you more looking for a short period of physiological bene t that you can use the momentum from to help your training RD I think last year when I trained at altitude I really got to build off of the leaps I made When fi fi fl fi fi fi fi fi 37
Photo Credit Carter Christman
The OTC is also the head sponsor of one of if not the biggest track event in the U S the Prefontaine Classic Before the IAAF declared the meet as part of the Diamond League Circuit the OTC was responsible for putting on the entire meet Now they organize other races such as the Butte to Butte 10K So how did the Tree House come to be Jake Willard a super volunteer with the OTC wanted to widely promote OTC merchandise this year He decided to create some designs and with the help of Christman they successfully created a variety of men s and women s clothes The OTC loved how the designs turned out and were determined to sell it at the U S Olympic Trials in June Christman brilliantly put two and two together He lives at a prime location two blocks away from Hayward Field and has a used basement So why not transform the basement into a store Hence the Tree House was born The Tree House Basement turned to OTC Store By Lauren Calcagno Days before the U S Olympic Trials Carter Christman s basement was full of assorted items belonging to members of the University of Oregon s cross country and track teams Looking at it then it was hard to imagine how the space would be transformed into one of the most popular hangout spots during the Trials Christman the Marketing Coordinator of the Oregon Track Club OTC spearheaded what would later be called the Tree House The Tree House was originally created as a way to sell OTC merchandise and promote the track club but it ended up having a much greater impact than that Most runners are familiar with the Oregon Track Club because according to Christman the club basically embodies the running community in Eugene It is composed of youth groups the elite team masters groups and anyone else that is interested in track and cross country Its mission is to help get people involved in the sport through watching volunteering and participating at running events Some highlights of the organization include the OTC Youth Club and the OTC All Comers Meets The OTC Youth Club was started a couple years ago to expose more youth to the sport and has successfully involved many kids ranging from 8 18 years old Although the group is currently on a break due to COVID 19 they are supposed to start back up again in the fall The all comers meets take place twice per week with one dedicated for kids under 12 and the other dedicated for kids 13 and older The meets and practices used to take place at Hayward Field but this was paused due to the construction on the field and then the pandemic The OTC is hoping they can move these events back to Hayward Field to give the kids as much Hayward Magic exposure as possible The Tree House s welcome sign featuring a picture of Bill Bowerman Photo Credit Carter Christman 39
His inspiration for this idea sparked from learning the history of Nike and how Bill Bowerman started with making shoes in a basement and then selling them out of vans Christman describes it as feeling very grassroots which aligns perfectly with the OTC as a whole This organization was started in 1958 as Nike s rst track club explaining its rich history and deep impact on the running community We wanted to bring it back to the roots show off the merchandise that we made and open up the Tree House It just happened to be the perfect spot my shelving even made it look like a retail store said Christman Before it became the Tree House the basement was just storage for the University of Oregon s track and cross country team members Teammates would put things there over the summer and then forget about them Even though Christman tried to get his friends to grab their stuff months before the Trials getting the basement completely cleared out was quite dif cult During the Trials the Tree House was open every day for three to four hours before the meet Some of the items they sold were tank tops racing singlets T shirts sweatshirts customized OTC ArtiKen bracelets the OTC mascot Doug plushies backpacks and their most popular item frames made from the wood of the old Hayward Field bleachers Christman said that the best part was that the basement was air conditioned which was a huge savior during those 110 degree days during the Trials In addition to selling a variety of apparel items they were also selling delicious elk burgers These elk burgers can be attributed to John Truax the coach of the OTC youth program and a member of the merch and marketing committee In addition to his involvement with the OTC he owns a business called Johnny s Track Meat where he hunts elk freezes it and then sells it Throughout the Trials he was seen in the front yard of the Tree House ipping burgers and selling his Meat Of cials tank tops Christman states I think the smell of the burgers brought a bunch of people in Lots of cool people came by like Bill Dellinger and many higher ups at Nike In addition to selling gear and burgers Nike gave the OTC about 30 tickets per day to hand out to members of the OTC youth group Since Trials tickets were so expensive and seating was limited this provided kids with the opportunity to attend the Olympic Trials even further exposing them to the world of track and eld The Tree House was very successful and raised lots of money for the OTC so they de nitely want to do something like this again in the future The entire club was in full support of the store especially the OTC elite athletes who dropped off some of their old racing singlets to sell This made the Tree House even more special as the OTC had never sold the authentic elite kits from previous years At the 2016 U S Olympic Trials many shoe companies opened houses stores for people to stop by Christman remembers going from house to house and visiting each company However this year due to COVID 19 there was a lot less of that Christman said making the Tree House a hangout spot was exactly what he envisioned and he loved that it turned out that way The OTC ArtiKen bracelets Photo Credit Paul Hinds fi fi fi fi fl fi 40
Since t he 2022 IAAF Wor ld At hletics Championships will be held in Eugene next year the OTC wants to build off of the success they had at the Tree House this year Their goal is to become a retailer for the Prefontaine Classic this August and then again at World Champs next year by having a booth inside of Hayward Field Anyone can get involved with the OTC by following their Instagram oregontrackclub and signing up to become a member on their website oregontrackclub com Being a member gives you early access to purchasing tickets for events at Hayward Field member discounts and access to the Nike employee store where all Nike gear is 50 off The website also features a lot of the merchandise that was sold at the Trials a lot of which is currently on clearance The Tree House will de nitely be a staple during track meets in Eugene for years to come The OTC is about engaging the community and I think we did that well It wasn t just a store it was a hangout spot too vocalized Christman So the next time you nd yourself at a major track meet in Eugene be sure to stop by the Tree House The logo for the Tree House Photo Credit Carter Christman fi fi 41
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race that I found fascinating before I was even in middle school was the marathon It was such a grueling challenge that so many runners hope to tackle in their careers I was determined to complete it and I wasn t even a runner yet Once I actually got into running I found out most people go through high school and college running before getting into marathon racing I was disappointed that I would have to wait for a while to tackle the Everest of running but that didn t take my passion away When everything shut down because of COVID I was deep in 800 meter and 1500 meter training Just like everyone else I had hoped to test my fitness in a mid distance race but my gut told me something different With no races or important runs in the foreseeable future I realized it was the perfect time to take on a life long dream While it was a great opportunity because there were no races I knew I was on my own to bang out 26 2 miles However my determination to run this race A Solo Marathon By Ryan Vargo It was a cool April morning at Gring s Mill and I had just finished my weekly long run of 15 miles The week of training was nothing special yet I was aching to compete It was supposed to be the weekend of a big invitational at the University of Virginia but the meet was cancelled because of COVID 19 The global pandemic took the world by storm and all around the country seasons were being cancelled left and right Runners were scrambling to find unofficial meets and group time trials so they could find an outlet for their months of training For me it was nothing different I grew up playing the normal sports like most runners did soccer basketball and baseball I had never really thought of the sport of running as anything outside of the Olympics The one main Vargo races Cross Country Photo Credit NIRCA 43
outweighed the obstacle of a solo marathon And while I was t for the 800 and 1500 I had still been hitting 12 15 mile long runs all year I had no expectations or time goals going into the run it was just something I wanted to nish to check off my bucket list So throughout the week before the marat hon I was busy planning my route checkpoints and friends to pass the time with me I had settled on having a friend bike the rst half before connecting with two other friends to run the second 13 1 miles with me At 9 40 am on April 11th I started the trek up Everest with Nick on the bike Miles 1 6 relaxed easy conversational Like I said before I had no plans on time going into the run I just wanted to nish That being said I should have gone out at a much slower pace but I was averaging 6 50 minutes mile for the rst part of the run It didn t feel dif cult at all and I felt like I could hold that pace all day Splits 7 12 7 02 6 53 6 50 6 48 6 44 Miles 7 13 familiar smooth fun I surprisingly didn t drop the pace and held onto 6 30 6 40 minutes mile over the course of the rst half of the run I went through the half marathon in a time of 1 26 33 and my mind started to race Could I break the threehour barrier Could I surprise myself and hit 2 59 59 I knew that the real race doesn t start until mile 20 but my body felt fresh it didn t feel fatigued like I usually do at the end of a long run It was go time Splits 6 52 6 46 6 38 6 37 6 42 6 39 6 32 Miles 14 19 suspicious comfortable excited Throughout the next ve miles a lot went through my head I had run farther in this portion of the run than I ever had in my life but I didn t feel spent or ready to stop My body hadn t felt ready to give up I didn t have that end of the long run fatigue and my mind was still laser focused If anything I felt faster the splits began to drop and I realized breaking 3 was a possibility Splits 6 51 6 45 6 36 6 32 6 29 6 31 Miles 20 24 bored regretful sore I felt bored because I had been running for over two hours straight Regretful because I had made the critical mistake of not eating or drinking anything during the run And sore because well I had run 24 miles straight I don t think that needs explaining This segment is where the run took a turn for the worse I thought I had beaten the infamous mile 20 wall My watch beeped with 20 miles and my legs felt heavy but my body didn t want to stop yet However over the next 10 15 minutes that all changed My legs began to melt with each step I took Each swing of my arms left a sharp pain in my shoulders And my eyesight began to fade in and out of focus While I was con dent I would nish I realized how stupid it was of me to not drink any water eat any food or take any gels All I had to do was not stop running I could still break three hours Splits 6 28 6 44 6 30 6 34 Vargo in a Cross Country race Photo Credit NIRCA fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi 44
food I had a granola bar in my car which I ate faster than Joey Chestnut downs hot dogs After resting on the ground for about 10 minutes I looked at my wrist for the rst time to see what I had nished in 2 57 45 I was ecstatic because that meant that I had the potential to qualify for the Boston Marathon when I do this stupid challenge again in a qualifying race My body hated me for the next few days as my joints clicked and my muscles clenched just walking around This marathon was an event that I will be able to look back on for the rest of my life and say that it was so stupidly awesome I highly suggest any runner at least attempts a marathon at some point in their life because if a middle distance runner can nish then so can you 45 fi fi fi fi fi Vargo races in a pack Photo Credit NIRCA fi fi Miles 25 26 2 pain misery and more pain This was by far the most pain I had ever felt in my life No hilly cross country course or nish of a 400 meter race compared to the sheer fatigue suffering and hatred my body felt for me For the rst time in this run my pace slowed down I had held a mid to high 6 minute pace for most of the run so I knew that as long as I didn t pass out that I could achieve this life long dream of mine With each step I took my legs arms and brain told me to fall over and give up Fortunately for me my heart still burned with passion for this goal I could see the peak of Mount Everest and there was no way I was giving up now Sloshing through the nish line my body sighed with relief and I fell over in a heap Splits 6 55 7 40 1 58 0 2 miles After nishing the run my brain was not able to process what I had just done As I laid down on the brink of passing out all I could think about was
Photo Credit Chloe Trudel
breakfast which was a choice of oatmeal fruit bagels or cereal As we utilized the rest of the morning to pack our bags and play a few rounds of cards various groups would make sandwiches for lunch based on requests Sandwich options were peanut butter jelly turkey ham lettuce and Provolone and American cheeses After loading the sandwich coolers into the vans we drove to the national park to complete our main run on the carriage roads traveling to a different trailhead nearly every day While the trails provided plenty of shade from the beating sun they were deceptive in terms of elevation Despite the hills the views were breathtaking and made every run worth the climb After each run we traveled to one of our favorite locations such as Duck Brook Sand Beach and Echo Lake to ice our legs and recover for accumulating between three and ten miles daily exhausted everyone In between runs we participated in fun outdoor camp traditions such as the hike up the face of Beehive a steep vertical climb of 539 feet After admiring the views and showcasing our photography skills we meandered down the backside to swim in The Bowl a small lake located 400 feet up the mountain Another day Coach Wilson treated us to popover sundaes at the Jordan Pond House In the middle of the week we were provided with an opportunity to earn volunteer hours directly at Lamoine State Park raking a half mile worth of trails that traversed our campground and clearing culverts cluttered with leaves sticks and fallen branches Some even had the privilege of using loppers to cut down lowdangling dead branches and oversized shrubs that blocked the path Four out of the five nights we ate dinner at the campsite Meals included chili stir fry burritos and pita pizzas One of the nightly highlights included racing down the access roads of the campsite to the rocky shores of Frenchman s Bay to skip rocks and watch the sun set behind the mountains on Mount Desert Island The generic camping experience of roasting marshmallows and making s mores around the campfire laughing and sharing scary stories was another nightly tradition everyone enjoyed As runners our competitive Souhegan Annual Acadia Running Retreat By Chloe Trudel On Sunday morning of June 20th 2021 28 members of the Souhegan cross country team boarded three 12 passenger vans in Coach Wilson s driveway The week our team had been waiting for since cross country concluded in November of 2020 was finally here The five hour drive to our campsite in Lamoine State Park a mere 35 minutes from Bar Harbor would consist of lots of laughs snacking and singing broken up by a few power naps and rest stops Every morning and evening we met under the hard roof canopy which contained eight picnic tables a sink and charging outlets to discuss the day ahead and to recap the day s adventures To ensure that everyone contributed to the success of the retreat groups composed of a counselor and four other campers were established to carry out the preparation and cleanup for each meal at camp Tasks rotated through the groups to guarantee that everyone did the same amount of work Within the first 30 minutes we were awake we completed our daily two mile morning shakeout run Everyone stopped to stretch and skip a few rocks at the dock before we ran back to make Souhegan XC women take a selfie Photo Credit Chloe Trudel 47
Souhegan XC runners volunteer Photo Credit Chloe Trudel nature was displayed during intense rounds of Bananagrams and card games such as Trash and Egyptian Ratscrew a camp favorite While the retreat was all about team bonding and packed with fun adventures it was also a learning experience Each of the ve counselors gave clinics instilling us with knowledge in becoming a team of successful distance runners Coach Wilson led a meditation session with the help from his daughter who made a video lled with visualization techniques to help us calm our nerves before races Tanner Kent TK a Souhegan alum led an interactive session emphasizing the importance of doing drills before runs workouts and races After explaining the movements and their signi cance each of us mirrored his demonstration for practice Elite marathoner Jeff Goupil s session targeted setting smart goals and how to reach them encouraging us to pair up and discuss with one another our personal goals for the season Another elite marathoner and long time counselor Scott Mindel presented a session on cross training suggesting activities we could do aside from running to work different muscle groups and improve strength and mobility Finally Courtney Hawkins an accomplished distance runner and friend of Souhegan XC held an inf or mational session regarding nutr ition recommending appropriate foods and meals to consume before during and after workouts and races The nal full day was the most eventful It was the day of our annual carriage road relay where Souhegan XC team group picture Photo Credit Chloe Trudel fi fi fl fi fi 48 fi fi ever yone was divided into teams of three competing for bragging rights each of the legs varying in distance For our cooldown a few of us ran up a hilly trail to dip our heads under a nearby waterfall After the relay we traveled to our former campsite in Seawall where we designed T shirts with magic markers to re ect our camp experience and came up with group names along with a chant to present to our fellow campers Awards such as Most Creative T shirt Design Best Chant and Best Representation of Acadia were given to each group We then drove up Cadillac Mountain snapping a few quick pictures of the views before ending the night with dinner in Bar Harbor Everyone sorted themselves into groups of four or ve returning to the vans holding half eaten ice cream cones and bags of souvenirs On Friday morning a few campers and counselors went to run on the carriage roads for a long run at the Visitor s Center while everyone else ran through the trails of the campsite and prepared breakfast The remainder of the morning was spent packing and struggling to stuff the tents back in their undersized bags Once we triple checked we had left no trace we loaded the vans one last time and began the ve hour drive back to Mont Vernon Although everyone was disappointed that the week of thrilling adventures had ended I speak on behalf of everyone when I say we were all ready to sleep in our own beds again
Photo Credit James Rieker
Unthinking Traditional Coaching Principles By Douglas Petrick When our high school distance running program was officially given the green light to return with protocols in place amid the pandemic I was stoked to return to doing what I love And from the vibe of the athletes last July they were amped too After all distance runners and coaches crave the predictability of a routine Picking up right where we left off before the pandemic felt awkward at the start even if that was the goal on paper Truth be told there was a transitional period from the lockdown to being in the company of those outside of my own household And to make things even more confusing summer uncertainty had me rethinking traditional training principles As a 44 year old high school distance coach I thought I d have all the answers at this point But privately as a coach I am my own worst critic I can t help this flaw it is a part of my DNA Sure like all other coaches the training plan is crafted well in advance and modified year to year But just about every day in my own head I question the plan that I have laid out for the athletes Is this training the best I could do Should we have done more Could we have approached it a dif ferent way Did t he workout fit t he individuals From the end of this spring to now I ve had much more time to think At the end of each season I always critically examine what took place Did we meet our goals did athletes stay healthy and progress did we perform best when it counted most Curiosity mixed with uncertainty afforded me an opportunity to perform a deep dive on what I value as a coach Sifting through a lot of the traditional methods I ve embraced in the past I ve wandered down another path As we begin officially meeting with the new mix of at hletes soon t hese are t he four unconventional principles that will serve as my guide Petrick cheering Photo Credit Kaia Petrick Identify Non Training Factors to Help Athletes Intervene during practice with an athlete that struggles with pace effort or sound running mechanics Are you a fan of the grind Not me not ever I view my primary job as a high school coach to keep kids healthy and set up each individual to have long term growth Sure it s inspiring to hear about distance runners pushing the boundaries of the human body in training But at the high school level replicating those herculean efforts may not be the best decision over the long haul Coaches need to be confident enough to rein in athletes at practice when warranted With abrupt changes in the student athlete schedule modifications in sleep patterns and unplanned meet cancellations there s a lot to consider besides just the training plan from this past year Warning I m not talking about running a metric analysis from a GPS watch 50
I m steering us towards something more basic but arguably more important Watching the athletes move at practice Pay attention to athlete body language during the warmup do they look tired lacking snap as they move Remember athletes are human too All nighters abrupt changes in schedule and stress all drain energy and impact training More than any other year student athletes have been impacted by real life This isn t an indictment of who s to blame but more specifically a call to action for coaches to look for clues when an athlete seems slightly off Does the athlete look sluggish during the start of practice Well now s a great time to have a short conversation with them Articulate what you are seeing from them during warmup Be open Be honest Be kind Ask about how the week is coming along outside of running Then listen to what they re saying If the athlete appears in the danger zone it s okay to pull the plug and send them home If you decide not to pull the plug then proceed with caution and utilize your coaching radar Look for red flags like struggling to hit paces running with poor mechanics or looking flat out drained These markers necessitate immediate intervention Stop the athlete and ask about non training factors like sleep academic load par t time job responsibilities etc Once again listen and process the information Next have the athlete gauge their energy level on a scale of one to ten Repeat the number back to the athlete and subtract 1 or 2 to have an honest answer Then provide Plan B options for the day shut it down switch to easy running or scale back the workout Decide on the appropriate modification as a coach and err on the side of caution No matter what you choose be sure to follow up with the athlete at the next training session Implement a Race Plan Rooted in Individual Strengths Consider an alternative race strategy if athlete performance at competitions doesn t match fitness observed at practice Each coach brings an individual bias and personality to their program In the past I ve tended to preach a one size fits all race plan for each specific distance event for my athletes This is USC men s team in action as Petrick watches Photo Credit James Rieker 51
rooted in watching most high school runners blast out too fast at the start of a race and then progressively run slower with each lap This typically doesn t end well So I cringe every time I hear a high school coach scream Get out fast at the start of the 1600 meter or 3200 meter run Rarely have I seen an athlete s best performance occur with that approach to racing That s not how we teach athletes to execute the 1600 meter or 3200 meter races For example in a 3200 meter competition on the track we race tactically but don t focus on even splits Run the first three laps at an honest race pace pick it up slightly faster for the middle two laps back at an honest pace for lap six then progressively move slightly faster with each two hundred meter segment through to the finish line We ve had the most athlete success in the 3200 meter run with that plan and we structure sessions at practice to work on the racing skills needed to execute that type of strategy But what if the athlete needs to get the wheels cranking earlier on in the race What if the athlete is the human metronome once they ve locked into pace but they need that starting push to get on pace and out of the traffic Or what if the athlete is heads and shoulders above the entire field and is shooting for a PR Breakthrough performances develop out of experimentation and knowing your athletes individual strengths This season I ve been more open minded to embrace atypical race plans I ve been more receptive to having distance athletes try non distance events Most of the athlete s strengths shine through at practice And it s through the power of observation that a coach can identify these individual talents and then create a customized racing plan For instance this past season one of our athletes on the team ran best when they got out fast for the 3200 meter race This was clear from observation at practice and when utilized directly transferred over to race situations in a positive way At competitions when said athlete s first two laps were the fastest and the rest were slightly slower race time steadily improved In years past I would have discouraged this type of race plan But this season I saw the advantages of a different and individual approach to competitions I learned from my athletes In return it s the coach s job to continue hardwiring the athlete s strengths Both coach and athlete must debrief and discuss the merits of embracing a proper race plan in order to grow Constructive dialogue and communication are key Natural skills are verified if the race plan works and the next logical step can be formulated if the race plan does not USC Coaches at District Track Field Championships Photo Credit RJ Shontz Incorporate Walking During Race Pace Sessions Athletes will more easily learn race pace after becoming competent at a variety of paces at practice Oscillating between extreme paces in a workout has many benefits for athletes Too often at the start of the season athletes are fueled with adrenaline for the first bit of race pace work Chunking the workout with short walks makes it easier for the athlete to digest Then the athlete can 52
more quickly learn to dial into race pace Slowing things down literally and figuratively reinforces the purpose of early season training sessions This prevents athletes from turning a workout into a monotonous death march A walking segment no matter how brief creates a mental and physical reset for your athletes If the race pace segment is too slow or too fast then the runner re adjusts for the next rep This is meta cognition in action Social emotional needs are met when walking portions are included during race pace work This is where the magic happens Groups will naturally emerge even without being formally assigned after the first one or two repetitions Athlete confidence increases within a social group when sorting out race pace work Within each pack runners self assign roles as they will take turns leading and getting splits on the fly helping to keep everyone focused Often a veteran within the group will provide racing pointers to others or provide a much needed word of encouragement Bonding occurs within the company as small talk is being made after each lap One hundred meters of easy walking followed by another one hundred meters of easy running Then slowly increase pace for the next fifty meters and finally transition into the last one hundred fifty meters at mile race pace Of course be sure to start with a thorough warm up and some short speed development work Then move to the starting line working your way around the track as described Setting up cones for each zone ahead of time is a great visual aid Consider one set to be three repetitions and have the athlete perform three to four sets After each set perform an easy walk jog lap in the reverse direction on the turf Upon completion of the workout progress into a stride or two at a fast pace mobility work and then an appropriate cooldown Learning pace is an iterative process Teaching pace requires intervention and during the walk pieces I approach and chat with the groups Openended questions are my favorite like Tell me how the pace felt or what do you like about this workout Get them talking about the workout in real time and it puts them in the moment Other times I may offer insight on how it will feel 800meters into the race when they reach that part of the workout Get to know the group dynamic by asking non training related questions after each set is completed As the season progresses and the athletes get better acclimated with race pace work it s natural to reduce or eliminate walking portions as needed Use the feedback you receive during these sessions to customize the process for your athletes USC Ladies XC team in action Photo Credit James Rieker Weigh the Feasibility of a Weekly Long Run in the Spring A hectic schedule may alter the frequency of a long run every seven days The weekly long run is a cornerstone of our program and my athletes consider it a badge of honor It meshes seamlessly with our schedule throughout the summer fall and winter There is a long buildup segment in the summer after track ends for athletes to transition to stacking a Friday long run week to week During the summer and fall we have more wiggle room to sharpen or There s tension it s competitive but the pack is a safe place to be There s a beauty in working towards a common goal and this is a critical element of building a positive team culture Now what do those walking portions look like A typical workout at the start of the season for a 1600 meter runner would include a repetition of continuous movement as follows 53
introduce 5k skills and implement a long run that increases in length Weather conditions are moderate in the fall which fits nicely with a sensible cross country racing schedule As we wrap up the cross country season there is a similar buildup period in the winter months before indoor track competitions begin Training racing and recovery easily coexist during most of the year In contrast spring student athletes begin a gauntlet during the outdoor track and field season At the high school level section meets invitationals playoffs district championships the state meet and possible post season competitions flood the schedule Academically speaking AP tests IB tests final exams prom graduation and end of thesemester activities further compound the calendar Family commitments Friends A part time job How about recovery sleeping fueling and hydrating It s a perfect storm where things can go awry if the athlete and coach aren t cautious Which brings us to the matter of handling a weekly long run in the spring In past spring seasons I ve had most kids dump their heart and soul into the weekly long run at the expense of their spring track and field races I continually beat the drum of a weekly long run as the number one priority for all athletes every week each season for better or worse Is it reasonable to shift away from that mindset in the spring Now I m not advocating to completely delete the long run from training in March April and May But when the spring schedule gets chaotic consider a different frequency for the weekly long run Consider the facts This spring we cautiously progressed through school shutdowns competition cancellations and non traditional meet situations on a weekly basis Everyone lost the 2020 spring track and field competitive season Racing skills are fundamental and best honed by running in races Not time trials not scrimmages but actual races This spring season we collectively shifted our emphasis to relish each opportunity to race as a gift Implementing a solid long run every two weeks fit our program much better this spring Since the second semester is the busiest time of the year at our high school this change served as a muchneeded release valve It lowered the athlete s stress level It simplified athlete responsibilities In previous seasons athletes may have felt more beat up during the spring but this time around they felt more rested at key points in the season Furthermore when it was time to nail a long run kids got after it in a major way Reducing the frequency of a long run was addition by subtraction so to speak And with a compressed and uncertain season this change had a liberating effect on the program Runners stayed healthier compiled more consistent training and achieved more personal bests at a variety of distances this spring season I m not a stats only guy but we had more athletes advance to the district championships this season in a variety of distance events from 800 to 3200 meters than any other year Doug Petrick coaches Cross Country Indoor Track Field Spring Track Field and teaches Physics at Upper St Clair High School in South Western Pennsylvania He enjoys spending time with his wife and three young children In his spare time he runs writes reads and listens to podcasts Connect with him at DougPetrick1 on Twitter Coach Petrick s Unconventional Principles 1 Identify Non Training Factors to Help Athletes 2 Implement a Race Plan Rooted in Individual Strengths 3 Incorporate Walking During RacePace Sessions 4 Weigh the Feasibility of a Weekly Long Run in the Spring 54
Photo Credit Robert Pedersen
My mindset was key to helping through this Remembering how far I ve come and what I have been chasing Seeing the Olympic Trials helped too Seeing that meet and knowing that that s one of the goals pushed me to get back and get right with running again A quote attributed to Winston Churchill but made popular for runners in Alexi Pappas s movie Tracktown also reminded me of what I was going for Never give up on something you can t go a day without thinking about It reminds me to keep chasing what I m after and to not stop if I keep thinking about it Another quote that kept me going was from Coach Aaron Feld Focus and have a vision of what you are supposed to accomplish Hold it uppermost in your mind so that you can become like that what you think about And nally there was my faith My faith reminded me to keep myself grounded I was reminded to trust in God and to keep persevering And was reminded of that constantly by the two verses I wear Philippians 4 13 and Hebrews 12 1 They remind me that I can do all with God and to keep running the race set before me And that kept me going even when I wasn t motivated or friends weren t there Life and this injury threw me through a wringer I wasn t sure I d ever be back at full strength To be honest I still struggle with that at times But I know with hard work perseverance faith and a little bit of stubbornness I ll be back and better than ever Overcoming Burnout and Injury while Chasing the Ultimate Goal By Mark Wang Being motivated in running can be hard Being motivated during and after injury is even harder And that s what I ve had to work through for the last year and a half But before I go any further here s some backstory Back in the fall of 2019 I was at a big moment in my career I was heading into my last quarter at the University of Oregon And I knew this was my last shot to walk onto the Oregon Cross Country team After two attempts to walk on for track and one earlier for Cross Country I knew this was my last shot I was t con dent ready to go and had a plan race well at a collegiate meet in San Francisco to make it into the Dellinger invite And then ball out at Dellinger to make the team Sounds simple right Well this plan got derailed quick fast and in a hurry During that race in San Francisco my hip gave out on me I nished the race which in hindsight was probably a bad idea but couldn t walk and I knew there was an issue So I took a month off I could eventually walk but couldn t do hard workouts And this would continue in spurts all the way up until March of this year When nally things got under control But by then I d lost a season and would lose one more So how did I stay motivated Through such a long injury not racing and really having to reassess my goals I won t lie to you it wasn t easy There were days where I was so angry and frustrated I felt like my career was wasting away and that I was going backwards And the constant setbacks were discouraging Constantly not being able to take that next step in rehab or recovery and getting to workouts in constant pain But there were three things that got me through these tough times friends mindset and faith My friends helped to keep me sane I am lucky to have many friends within the running community and they all offered encouragement and helped me from falling deeper into the rut And they reminded me constantly of what it was I was chasing Wang races in a Cross Country meet Photo Credit Andrea Wang fi fi fi fi fi 56