ized that if I stuck with it, I could become great."
And her competitive spirit, something she ranks
a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, drives her as well.
a rheumatologist with University Hospitals, she
reports that her friends don't like running and
have conveyed that they think she's crazy. She's
perfectly okay with that. Nothing distracts her
or diminishes her intense level of focus.
practices and meets. That's why he calls her a
"zone runner," something he further qualifies by
mentioning how difficult it is to talk to her while
she's running.
quire fast, short distance sprints are something
he knows she dislikes. "It totally pulls her out of
her zone."
is succeeding, and the strategy mostly relates
to consistency and addressing form, speed and
endurance. He also is aware of her "grit and abil-
ity to mentally power through long distances."
best time of 17:09 ranks as the third fastest in
the nation this season.
she wants if she puts her mind to it." But his
main concern remains with the here and now.
New York City Marathon and competed in the
summer Olympics. She also admires Olympic
gymnastics champion Simone Biles, in whom
she sees an athlete who is "full of energy and
muscle, and doesn't care what others think, and
she does what she loves, which is important."
mined and motivated to go beyond everyone
else, and that means "the extra mile, literally."
She notes that it's important to surround your-
self with those who are supportive, both among
runners and others. Focus also is paramount.
tice there's no fooling around." She also admits
that there will definitely be challenging times.
me work even more the next day if I don't think
I did well." It's her firm belief, though, that if
you're diligent at practice, "you will succeed no
matter what."
her preferred distance, logging a personal best
time of 11:03. She has a strict policy of never
listening to music while running, even calling it
a bad habit. Instead, her thoughts during a race
then going faster at certain points, and paying
attention to the competition. While practicing,
she pays attention to her times during certain
intervals, and while taking leisure runs, she
zones out.
those sessions lasting one to two hours. Meets
are on Saturdays and she takes Sundays off,
giving her favorite running shoes, Brooks or
Asics in size 6.5 or 7, a break. She also holds to
a bedtime of 9 or 9:30 pm, with a wake-up for
school by 6:45 am. Her academic schedule this
year includes two Advanced Placement classes
and two Honors classes, and she maintains a
3.8 GPA.
for, in part, by putting in a greater number
of miles over the summer and building her
endurance. She also has the critical ability to
push herself, she says. Diet is another essen-
tial element in her training program, and she
adheres to routines that provide meals packed
with protein and carbs, along with snacks that
include bars and fruit. For a career, she's even
considering being a nutritionist.
says that running has helped her to open up to
people. And her running has released her
into Beachwood's record books, which is no
small feat.
Association Division II meet in November in Hebron.