The Lore of Running

The outdoor season is just around the corner. Indoor Nationals provided some interesting results, but besides that there is not much to discuss in the competitive running world. Instead of providing the usual astronomical amount of statistics, I'm going to write about why someone would want to compete in this sport to begin with. We live in a modern age, with planes, trains and automobiles. Many jobs require their employees to sit behind a computer screen for many hours of the day. We have become increasingly immobile. With many Americans enjoying a surplus of food, comfort, and entertainment, why do some choose to put themselves in an uncomfortable place and run? Biking is much faster, more exhilarating, and provides less impact on joints. Running is slow, painful, and definitely not glamorous. People who play ball sports such as football, basketball and soccer don't have to go through nearly as much pain on a day to day basis, and generally attract more attention. Professional football players make millions, while even the best professional runners have trouble cracking a six-figure digit salary.

However, running is extremely natural. Humans are not the fastest animals on the planet. Usain Bolt is only slightly faster than an African Elephant at top speed. However, the farther the distance the better we get. We are able to shed excess body heat with ease. Being a biped makes running and walking extremely efficient. The arches in our feet act as natural springs connected to the springy muscles in our lower leg. Our arms are able to act as counterweights moving us forward. We are able to go days with nothing but water. We are built for running. The endorphins released when you run can give you a happy euphoria that some people call a
“runner’s high”.  

Many coaches for sports that involve running use running as a punishment. If you do something wrong you have to run a few laps around a field. Long distance runners find a few miles a piece of cake and can enjoy runs that are longer than ten miles. Most of us don’t even know why we run, but taking a break just makes us want to come back to the sport. The competitiveness is high and it is very easy to create a formula to get better. For the most part, the more you run, the better you become. There is no subjective decisions to be made when comparing athletes, because everyone has times and places at specific meets to use for comparison. We race against ourselves just as much as we race each other. It is a self bettering activity. So as the weather gets better, try going for a run. You might hate it at first, but after a few weeks you’ll be addicted.

A Short States Recap

PTFCA States was almost two weeks ago, but Indoor isn't quite over yet. The day started off with the 4x8, which was surprisingly more exciting than I first anticipated. State College was the clear favorite, but Abington and GFS were off to a strong start. Central Bucks West and GFS front loaded their relays, putting State College's Owen Wing towards the back of the field. It was also interesting to see the number of 1:56 second legs in the relay. State College first got the lead with Degleris's massive kick, much like his leg at the Millrose Games. State College did not take down the state record, but ran a fantastic 7:48, making them the only team in the country to break 7:50. Some notable differences from my predictions included Penn Wood with an incredible leg by Manyeah, and Council Rock North ran an 8:02.5 which was definitely not expected. CB West and Abington were able to pick off GFS later in the race.

The mile was a race highly anticipated, and lived up to expectations. As predicted, Jaxson Hoey did not run any faster than he needed to. He seemed to pace his younger brother to a time that would get him near the front. Josh delivered and the Hoey brothers claimed the top two spots. This was only the beginning of an unprecedented meet from these brothers. Cooper Leslie made a strong move and was in solid third place for a large part of the race. Huge props to him! Desko made a move near the end of the race, but ran out of real-estate to take down the Hoey brothers. On a side note, Jeff Kirshenbaum false started, which I would assume was on purpose: to save up for the 3000m.

The 800 did not go as I predicted. Dom Peretta was on another level. Matt Wisner waited until the last possible second to make a move from fifth up into second. Kolor still ran a solid time, and it will be exciting to see some more Kolor Peretta battles in the Spring. Jaxson Hoey still ran a fast time of 1:53, but just didn't have enough leg speed to get around these guys at the finish line.

The 3k played out very similarly to the way I predicted. Dom Hockenbury led for most of the race, although Rusty Kujdych led for the first few laps. I wasn't very confident that Kujdych was going to be in upper medal contention, and it seems that he just miscalculated his race strategy. Brophy was in third with a lap to go, just behind Nate Henderson. His finishing kick was fast enough to catch Hock on the final stretch. Poor Hockenbury had a very similar race last year with Matt McGoey. I will follow up with another post on the final relays and the team competition in the near future. Downingtown West may have the state record for the highest number of points scored at the state meet.