Track team runs to have fun

Conditioning for the girls track team began in November. Since then, the participating girls have practiced everyday after school in preparation for the official track season, which begins on March 14th. 

Conditioning consists of dynamic stretches, running three to six miles, and static stretching. Coaches don’t attend these sessions, only captains.

“We usually just meet either outside or inside. Or we go to Total [Fitness], which is this place where they give you workouts to do. So we mostly just do mileage,” captain Jane Hepp said. 

Sometimes, weather permitting, the team runs at Maybury State Park. 

“Normally we run on the roads, and so it’s just a change of scenery,” team member Jayshree Sundaram said. 

If the team decides the weather isn’t desirable, such as the cold and rainy or snowy days, the team runs relays inside, usually in the field house. 

From the start of the track season in November, the team has braved both cold and snowy conditions. 

“But it’s worth it,” team member Miriam Klenke said. “People who start track and cross country without conditioning, they always end up having to make up that time later, so when everyone is working on sprinting, they’ll be working on getting a good pace,”. 

Sundaram, who ran track and cross country without conditioning in middle school, noted how it has helped her in her high school running career.

“I’m probably a lot better than I was at the end of eighth grade season, like even before I started, so yeah, you need conditioning,” Sundaram said. 

Conditioning isn’t just miles and stretches. The team also has “Fun Fridays” where they play an athletic game together or run relays. Captain Katherine Ray’s dog Reagan often joins in. 

“I usually bring Reagan in almost every day. So Fun Fridays, are just a way for the team to relax, bond a little bit, and Reagan’s just a part of the family now,” Ray said. 

Fun Fridays also serve as a way to de-stress at the end of the week for teammates like Naomi Daniels. 

“It just gives me a chance to have fun, celebrate the week being over and give me a good chance to bond with everybody else on the team,” Daniels said. 

From the much needed pre-season preparation to having fun as a team, conditioning is an important step to becoming a greater athlete. 

“I don’t know where I’d be if i didn’t come [to conditioning]; I would probably not be running,” Klenke said. “Conditioning is probably more important than the actual season, because the more you condition before, the better you’ll be in season.”