Running down the final straightaway at Belmont
Tuesday, October 20th: After being dismissed at 12:20 in the afternoon, we made our way to the Westtown School for our competition. I woke up feeling great, and my training left me loose and ready to race, so I was excited all day to get my chance to prove myself on the racecourse. We did our goal session in the back of the team bus, and everybody seemed intently focused on accomplishing whatever their personal victory was going to be. The gun went off, and immediately I attacked the initial hill, in an effort to distance myself from the pack while also developing a strong rhythm that would carry me through the rest of the race. One kid from George School latched on, and I carried him through the first mile as we completed the initial circuit twice. Feeling strong still, I kept up the pace, pushing through the 1 mile marker in 4:43. At this point, every other runner was far behind me, and it became a battle of mental fortitude. I knew this would most likely happen, so I felt ready to push my own pace through the back section. I dug into the first of two major hills, and continued to press the pace, not allowing for any breaks. I came through the 2 mile marker at 9:51, about where I expected to be. The second and third miles on Westtown's course are particularly difficult, and I knew that I would have to fight to keep the pace. I came out of the back hills right on pace, and I pushed through the final stretch to finish in a time of 15:48.1, setting a new course record on my way to a victory. Right behind me was my teammate Grayson Hepp, and behind him Gordon Goldstein, Daniel Stassen, and Zach Goldberg. We won the meet with our score of 15, over the second place Friends Central School, with their score of 76, sweeping the top five positions in the race. It was a great day for the JV racers as well, who took the first 12 places on their way to an undisputed victory. We went home victorious, happy to finally see the dividends of the endless months of work we've been putting into our singular pursuit of greatness.
