When and why did you get into running?
I first got into running because of my parents and because (of) my friends. I joined when I was in ninth grade. But when I was in eighth grade, a bunch of my friends were already doing cross country and all of them really wanted me to do cross country. My parents also wanted me to do cross country because my sister did cross country, and my parents were always a running family, so it’s just meant to be.
How did your family react to you going to state?
They were really excited for me. I think that they always have high hopes for me, but they were still super excited for me. It wasn’t like it was super unexpected, because I’d been training a lot over the summer and stuff, but it was still super exciting and they were proud of me for working hard and getting there.
What did your training regimen look like leading up to state?
I started training at the very beginning of the summer in June, and slowly I added more miles (and) more distance. I think over the summer, I was probably (running) around 40 miles (per) week. Then once the school year starts, you just got to keep maintaining that mileage, keep running a lot, keep working hard, and then eventually, a couple of weeks before state, you start tapering back running a little bit less miles, but it has to be more intense and just more speed. So you switch from more endurance-based stuff to more speed stuff. Then you just have to keep sticking with it every day. I got to do (my) runs and keep working out every day to get there.
Do you have some sort of prep before you run, like a hype song or stretches?
Usually on the bus, I have three songs that I listen to that (go) together. They’re about 16 and a half minutes, which is about the same time that (it) takes me to run my 5k. So I think these songs are how long it’s gonna take me to actually run. I imagine the first song being for the first mile, the second for the second mile (and) the third for the third mile. Then, about an hour or 50 minutes before the race, we have to do a warm-up run with the team. Then, 30 minutes before, we do some stretching and more warm-ups. Then, 10 minutes before, you have to get your spikes on, do some little sprints at the line, just to get your legs moving a bit and take your warm-ups off.
When you’re running, what do you typically think about / what is your mindset?
Usually, I try to sing songs in my head. Normally, I think people think ‘oh, I want to listen to a really hype song, like a really fast song when I’m running, because it will make me go faster.’ But for me, I just imagining playing, (in) my head, really slow songs that help me stay calmer and more focused on my running than just staying with it mentally.
Do you have any advice for younger runners who aspire to become great runners like you?
First of all, it’s possible to be a great runner, (and) it’s possible to get to state. I think that for a long time, since no one had made it to state in 20 years, the sentiment on our cross country team was, ‘oh, Park, we just don’t go to state.’ But I want to change that idea. I want to encourage younger runners that if you stick with it, it is possible to make it to state and be better. You gotta just stick with it. Don’t give up and reach out to coaches, other people and captains. You could talk to me, too, if you want to, just to see what you could do to get better, but reach out to people. See how they can help you to do better.
What’s next for you?
I’m a junior, so I still have another year at Park. I plan on doing track this spring and then doing cross country again next fall, and I’ll just keep training, working hard (and) getting better. So, the sky is the limit.
