Nikeya Green began running when she was just 5, tagging along on her father’s runs to get in shape for his Army physical fitness tests.
“Whenever he would train to get in shape, he would take me out for some of his runs,” she said. “I used to have a bad habit of wanting to start out at a full-out sprint and then I’d be tired, but my dad taught me how to pace myself.”
0.3 seconds.
That’s how much time separated Chase Weaverling, a senior at Poolesville High School, from the coveted 10th position at the Northeast Footlocker Championships Nov. 30. The top 10 finishers in each of the country’s four divisions -South, Midwest, West and Northeast, held in Van Cortland Park in New York City – advance to the highly touted Footlocker National Championship held in San Diego two weeks later.
Chris Hoyle, a senior who runs for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, is a team captain who leads by example.
In addition to being the top runner on the team this year, the Oak Hill, Va., resident mentors younger runners, calling them during schools breaks to make sure they’re staying in shape, and tries to create the same inclusive atmosphere he found on the team when he joined as a freshman.
Alex Corbett inadvertently fell in love with running while running the mile in gym class in middle school.
“That’s when I discovered I had talent,” he recalled during the Ram Invitational at Robinson Secondary School on Dec. 4.
For most of the 1,300 runners gathered in Fairfax on Dec. 31, a four mile race was less a distraction from their New Year’s Eve plans and more an integral part.
Even for people who haven’t run much. Megan Davisson hasn’t been that attentive to her running since injuring herself during the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon. But with her fifth straight Fairfax Four coming up, she went for it anyway.
Congratulations of each of the members of our All-RunWashington High School Cross Country postseason team.
Check back here to see profiles of each of the 10 men and women selected by a panel of coaches from around the region.
The arrival of December means a month filled with holiday parties for most people. However, the enthusiastic turnout at local races over the past two weekends shows that for many local runners December is also a time for festive races, and of course costumes. With gray skies and rain in the forecast, it looked like the weather might be in danger of dampening the festivities at the inaugural 12ks of Christmas Holiday Run in Georgetown on Saturday. Luckily the morning turned out to be a dry one, although race director John Braithwaite admitted that he had been hoping for a dusting of snow to add a little bit more Christmas feeling to the race.
There was plenty of Christmas spirit on display among the 600 competitors in the sold-out races, and a large proportion had gone to a lot of effort to dress up for the occasion. Some of the non-running supporters joined in by wearing Christmas hats, and there was even a dog in a Santa suit. Creatively-named teams entered for the races included the Sugar Plums, Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Holiday Heroes, and a host of Santas, elves and reindeer could be seen gathered around the start-line. The clear crowd favorite however, and pre-race costume award winner, was a warm and furry looking Rudolph.
Let it snow. You never know who might win.
Saturday, Dec. 8, was the first time Ethiopian Beyasa Moleta, 25, had ever run in the white stuff. Wait until we get to see what he can do in prime conditions.
Carissa Lee (48:11) and Pete Sumner (48:10) first met in 2004 at the West Point Triathlon in West Point, N.Y. Their love for running brought them together, and four years later, they married.
The Sumners participated in this year’s Jingle All the Way 8k. Only this time, they brought with them a new addition to the family.
Megan Wilson didn’t start high school planning to run cross country. In fact, she spent her first two years at Sidwell Friends School in the District playing club volleyball. Though she comes from a running family – her father ran at Columbia and her mom at Villanova- Megan had other interests and didn’t feel pressured by her parents to follow in their footsteps. By the start of her junior year, however, she decided to join the cross country team, in part because of her close relationship with coach Gaby Grebski and the team’s strong camaraderie.
[button-red url=”http://www.runwashington.com/2013/12/16/runwashington-high-school-cross-country-team/” target=”_self” position=”left”] More of the All-RunWashington team [/button-red]Â Despite her relatively late start to the sport, Wilson had an outstanding debut season in 2012, winning the DC. .State Athletic Association championships by over two minutes and placing third in the IAC/ISL/MAC championships. She improved upon those performances this year, winning the Lake Forrest Invitational, the D.C. state meet and the Maryland/D.C. Private School championships. She looks to continue her strong showing in outdoor track this spring before taking her performances to the next level and competing next year for Stanford.