The Woodberry Harrier 2014: Volume 4

Taking Chances

I vividly remember that day in August, two years ago, when I sent Coach Hale an August email informing him that I wasn’t going to do varsity cross country because I thought I needed another year of JV. The fear of not being good enough had consumed me that summer.  Last year I conquered that fear and joined the team, but this past summer I had a new anxiety:  I had to become a team leader. The thought of teammates looking to me while I was still trying to figure myself out as a runner sent a shiver down my spine. There were times that I hesitated accepting the task of helping guide this talented group of guys. I had never done something like this in my life, but I knew I had to tread outside of my comfort zone.

Grasping the unfamiliar role of the captain was no easy task. It felt strange demanding things from my teammates when just a year ago, Hines and Billy had to demand things of me. The first few weeks back at school, I didn’t know if I could endure this arduous duty, which didn’t come naturally to me. I constantly had to remember Coach Hale saying, “Decide what type of leader you want to be,” but by mid-September, I still hadn’t really decided. 

The decision was a hard one to make. I contemplated being the authoritative type, a hard choice for a guy of my size and demeanor, and I thought about being someone who just leads by example.  I decided that raising my voice took little effort while the latter was the tougher, more challenging mission, and I took time to reflect on past leaders who withstood every trying workout and race without giving in. My constant worrying had run its course. I realized that being a leader didn’t require bossiness or a booming voice. It called for hard-work and risk-taking. This was the kind of leader I wanted to be.

Running in Richmond at the Maymont Cross Country Festival gave me the perfect opportunity to take this risk.  After a hard two miles, I examined the front of the pack and saw Robert up ahead. I knew I had to keep my form tight and my mind fixed and stay steady. Then with less than a half-mile to go, we were crossing the bridge at the bottom of the long hill I’d been dreading since we previewed the course. Lean in and shorten your stride, I kept repeating in my head as my spikes hit the grass and my legs began to burn. As I pushed up the incline, I spotted a blue jersey not too far ahead. I thought about going for it and wondered how many meters we had to the finish line.  Coach Hale specifically warned us not to kick too early, especially up a tricky hill like this, but I knew that if I didn’t pick up my pace now, I’d never catch that guy. Pumping my legs and slicing the air with my arms, I pushed my pace up the hill.  Rounding the curve at the top, I spotted the finish. Then I took one last deep breath and dashed, flying by the blue runner just a few meters from the line.

Even with a cotton mouth and wobbly legs, I knew I had done something.  I was ecstatic about running 17:12 but way more thrilled about the risk I had taken. Watching the rest of the team finish, I saw the anguish on their faces with each of them fighting until the end. Then I was even happier to know we had all taken a chance that day.

--Cameron Finley ‘15

It never fails that things get rather frantic around here at the mid-term and the first Parents’ Weekend, and the Harrieralways gets delayed.  One of these years I will figure out how to avoid that.  Thanks for being patient.

Cam’s piece is timely because I think the guys have been taking lots of courageous chances since Maymont, not just in meets but also in practices, such as the heroic effort on Moormont last Wednesday and the impressive workout they executed at Collegiate this week. Each practice I have seen a more settled focus and each race and brought exciting PR’s, and I am watching the gaps get tighter and tighter.   

We ran our traditional dual with St. Chris here for our first Parents’ Weekend, and the race brought out the best in several of the guys:

	Woodberry Forest vs. St. Christopher’s
	Woodberry Forest Lake Course
	3 October, 2014
	Place:  1st out of 2 teams 1-5  spread:  1:34
			Place out of 18 runners
	Singleton	17:10	1
	Finley	17:16	2
	Rich	18:36	5
	Flory	18:42	6	Season PR
	Carrington	18:44	7	Lifetime PR
	Hernandez	19:06	10	Lifetime PR
	Tydings	19:13	11	Lifetime PR
	Jacobs	19:23	13	Lifetime PR
	Gussler	20:29	16
Dameron		21:46	17	Season PR
	Prater	22:01	18
			Place out of 13 runners
Vieth		20:05	4	Season PR
Wall		21:51	7

Though the IV Form trip and the SAT left us with a skeleton crew for Albemarle, the six who ran had an amazing day:  

	Albemarle Invitational
	Panorama Farms Earlysville, VA
	11 October, 2014
	Place:  21st out of 34 teams 1-5  spread:  2:17
			Place out of 254 runners
	Finley	16:50	23	Lifetime PR
	Singleton	16:52	26	Season PR
	Rich	17:47	89	Season PR
	Flory	18:33	160	Season PR
	Gussler	19:07	192	Season PR
	Wall	20:04	227	Season PR
	Prater			DNR
	Carrington			DNR
	Tydings			DNR
Vieth				DNR
	Hernandez			DNR
	Dameron			DNR
Jacobs				DNR

And for the second Parent’ Weekend we ran our traditional dual with EHS, and again we had several PR’s:

	Woodberry Forest vs. Episcopal High School
	Woodberry Forest Lake Course
	17 October, 2014
	Place:  1st out of 2 teams 1-5  spread:  1:47
			Place out of 18 runners
	Singleton	17:13	1
	Finley	17:52	3
	Rich	18:30	4	6-sec. down from StC race
	Flory	18:40	7	2-sec. down from StC race
	Carrington	19:00	9
	Hernandez	19:17	10	3-sec. down from StC race
	Jacobs	19:20	11	Lifetime PR
	Tydings	19:34	12
	Gussler	20:30	14
Dameron		21:32	18	Season PR
			Place out of 25 runners
	Vieth	20:33	1
Wall		21:04	4	47-sec. down from StC race!
Prater		22:46	7

I am grateful for the steady improvements and the courage they are showing in taking chances, but I am especially grateful to have the team all healthy and running together at this point in the season.  It’s been several years since we have all been regularly together for workouts and all racing together at this point in the season, and I am enjoying that immensely.