Sarah Coffey (Class of 2016)
Photo by Lisa McArthur
My time at Hereford was shaped by running on these teams, and although it wasn't always fun in the present, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
I first ran the Falls Road hills workout as a sophomore, after a tough freshman year of getting into running and a summer split between following the cross country training schedule and doing significant biking as cross training. I improved a lot over this summer and came back in the fall of my sophomore year running workouts consistently with the varsity team for the first time. This meant a lot of being scared or nervous for practice, remembering how much harder their workouts were than anything I had done as a freshman and knowing that this year, I would do those workouts too.
I heard about Falls Road hills only briefly as a freshman, but as a sophomore everyone knew what was coming - the coaches warned us to plan to be at practice at least half an hour longer than normal one day in September, and that was how we knew. I was a little nervous but not much more than other workouts; that season, it felt like every workout was many times longer and harder than what I'd done as a freshman, so Falls Road hills didn't phase me more than any other day. The build-up can get to your head because the "warm up" to get to the hill is at least 3.5 miles of moderately hilly and rough terrain, which takes a while.
No one really talks, the air is still and warm, and by the time you get to the bottom you're already sweating and out of breath and you can't even see the top. It's a long workout, but three of anything feels mentally manageable, so at least it's got that going for it. I think it was just as hard as I expected; that is, one of the most difficult cross country workouts ever. I remember the elation coming back being worth it though. It was late enough in the day that the heat had usually broken, we were all tired but knew we just had to get back to our turf and there was no rush. We always stopped to "swim" (splash around in the Gunpowder) on the way back. Once we got back to the water tower behind the school, everyone else had left and we would plop down to stretch, drink water, and rehash particularly desperate parts of the workout.
I think above all this workout fostered community among the varsity team and bonding between the boys and girls teams. In describing it to younger runners my junior and senior years, I made sure to stay realistic and tried to avoid scaring anyone into thinking they couldn't do it. This was the same strategy I used as a captain talking to younger runners before meets: don't minimize the difficulty or physical pain of pushing yourself to the limit, but focus on the technical aspects (try to pace off an older runner, start the race conservatively and push hard starting with half a mile to go) in order to calm people down and give them the mental focus they need to succeed.
My time running at Hereford definitely impacted my life going forward. On these teams I learned about community and how to be there for everyone else when they needed it. I also learned how to manage my time, as practice every day and long meets on the weekends forced us to be diligent about homework and other extracurricular activities, including getting enough sleep. Since graduating from Hereford, running has taken on a different role in my life and maybe I love it more because it's no longer competitive. I find the most peace and solace when I'm out running alone in the woods or down empty roads, and whenever I need to seriously think something through I grab my shoes and go for a run.