Running in the Footsteps of Champions

By Paige Smith

for DistancePreps.com

I arrive at Morley Field around 8 AM. Charter buses pull up to the park just ahead of me and swing open their double doors. I watch as eighty of the United States’ best high school runners step out from the bus and walk forward along their concrete red carpet, wearing matching neon green warm-up gear and looking resolute and confident. They are single-minded in their focus and their expressions show it: eyes look straight ahead, jaws are set, shoulders are back. It’s the calm before the storm.

Photo by Kyle Brown - 2014 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships at Morley Field, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

This is the day some of them have spent four years working toward, the day where they will compete with the best high school cross-country runners around the nation and either showcase their talents or fall short of their own expectations. It’s the 2014 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships and these runners are here to live up to the title.

I pass the athlete tent with vicarious butterflies in my stomach and head toward the start area, where all the action takes place. The sky has cleared from the previous day’s torrential downpour—a rare switch in weather for sunny San Diego—but the grass is still wet and scattered with patches of mud. I think about the steep hill on the other side of the course—the hill that usually makes or breaks a runner’s race—and wonder how slippery it is and how the footing will affect the runners’ downhill speed.  

The notoriously dusty course has transformed overnight into a damp, squishy one that will force the runners to trade in their standard racing flats for spikes. At least their teeth won’t be covered in black dirt by the end of this thing, I think.

I walk toward the announcer’s tent to get a better view of the person being interviewed over the loudspeaker. It’s Kara Goucher, two-time Olympic competitor, and she’s talking about the strong foundation Foot Locker gives runners who want to move forward in the sport. Besides Kara, there’s a world-class group of professional runners, world-record holders and Olympians present to act as team captains for the respective regions: the Northeast, Midwest, South and West.

This select group of high school athletes will run in the footsteps of champions like Meb Keflezighi, Deena Kastor, Adam Goucher and Alan Webb. These legends are gods and goddesses of the sport, their presences serving as powerful reminders of the possibilities that come with being a Foot Locker finalist.

The crowds start to gather. Family and friends secure spots on the sidelines, waiting with flags and cardboard signs that read, “You got this!” and “Dig deep!” Curious spectators circle the tall display that lists the top twenty fastest times for girls and boys in the race’s 36-year history. A giant projector screen above the start line plays videos of the female frontrunners sharing their excitement to have qualified for nationals, telling the camera they are ready to win and that this race is what they have worked for.

My ears perk up when I hear Anna Rohrer from Indiana, the 2012 Foot Locker Champion and favorite of the day. Last year, Anna suffered navicular stress fractures in both her feet after setting the Indiana state cross-country record during a race. She underwent surgery, spent six weeks in a wheelchair and abstained from running for five months.

The announcers comment on Anna’s remarkable recovery and her position to make a comeback this year. Anna herself seems less focused on winning the race and more focused on performing to her own standards. “If I cross the line feeling like I couldn’t have run any faster, I’ll be happy,” she says.

The announcers begin the introductions, naming the runners and their accomplishments one by one. The girls stand on a makeshift stage then run forward along a curving line of white spray-painted stars on the grass to take their place behind the start line.

Once all the girls are settled, the gun goes off. They take out hard. Makena Morley, a four-time Foot Locker competitor, leads the pack with Anna and Ryen Frazier following close behind.

After just one mile, Anna starts to push the pace. Her stride is long and steady, her gaze steely. She grinds forward and by the time she hits the hill on the second loop of the course, she is alone. She never once looks behind her for the competition, a move I learn later isn’t her style. She continues increasing her pace until her kick is in full force.

The crowd swells on the sidelines and the race officials adjust the cones and flags to point toward the finish as Anna comes charging up the greenbelt. She crosses the line in 17:13, a full ten seconds ahead of the second place finisher.  

Minutes later, during her post-race interview with Deena Kastor, Anna is humble, sweet and composed. She seems barely out of breath as she talks about the support of her teammates and her gratitude to be racing with such tough competitors. She talks about coming back after her injuries and gives advice to young girls in similar situations: “It might sound cliché, but don’t stop believing. Never give up and just keep going because it makes you mentally stronger.”

Just before 10 AM, I head back to the start area for the boys race. The announcers highlight Grant Fisher, last year’s reigning Foot Locker Champion from Michigan, along with several other boys predicted to push the pace. “What’s amazing about this race is that there are really about twelve different athletes today who could win this,” I hear over the speakers.

The boys run along the same painted stars as the girls did during their introductions and before I can pinpoint Grant Fisher among the Midwest team, the gun sounds. I follow the same routine I did during the girls race: watch the start, dash to the tennis courts to see the half mile point, run back toward the start to watch the live video feed of the boys cresting the big hill, repeat, then catch the finish.

The boys stay in a tight pack of nine runners at the half-mile, then five at the mile and a half, then three at the two and a half mark. Ten meters before the top of the second hill, Grant takes off. He looks focused and comfortable as he opens his stride on the downhill and crests the grass incline to come toward the finish.

A few boys next to me on the sidelines comment on his form. “He just looks so relaxed,” one of them says. “He makes it look like its effortless,” says another. They are in awe.

Grant crosses the finish line in 15:03. Similar to Anna, he comes in nine seconds before the next runner. I watch his interview afterward and take note of how polite and excited Grant is. He talks about how much effort he devoted to training and how he and his coach Mike Scannell formed a plan to attack the hill and push hard in the last two-three minutes of the race.

When asked about the pressure to perform after coming off of his win last year, Grant says he had no idea what a difficult feat it would be to secure a second championship title among such a high-caliber group of athletes. “To end my high school cross country career with this,” he says and pauses, “I can’t really put it in words.”

He’s right. It’s impossible to put four years of races, workouts, victories, losses, bad days, sore muscles and runner’s highs into a single sentence. These high school students have run thousands of grueling miles in extreme conditions and beat out thousands of other passionate, talented runners to be where they are. They have juggled cross-country practices with school, family, friends, extracurricular activities and academic workloads. They have prioritized their health and fitness in order to excel. They have confronted injury, self-doubt and fear. They have demonstrated commitment, tenacity and willpower. They have pushed tirelessly forward in the face of setbacks and challenges to become the fastest high school runners in the nation.

Anna returns among the throng of cameramen and family members to take photos with Grant. She and Grant smile and pose as people place flower crowns on their heads, snap photos and ask them which colleges they’re considering.

It occurs to me then that Anna and Grant are not just great runners—they are great champions. They listen to the questions reporters ask them and respond with poise and honesty. They acknowledge the role their competitors played in taking them to first place. They thank their families and coaches.

They are two humble, driven, sincere kids from the Midwest whose four years of dedication have culminated in this much-deserved victory. Today, these high school cross-country runners represent everything that is beautiful about the sport.

Before Anna leaves I tap her on the shoulder and say congratulations. “Thank you so much,” she says. I ask her if she’s sad to have finished her last high school cross-country race.

Anna pauses to think. “It’s a little sad, but I know that I’m on to bigger and better things,” she says. She looks so hopeful and so sure when she says it, I can’t help but believe her.

Paige Smith is a freelance writer, a believer in good vibes and an advocate for embracing your passions and the experiences they lead you to. A native Southern Californian with a fondness for France, Paige adores travel, self-development, languages, literature and connecting with people across cultures. See more of her at her blog Feed the Good Wolf.