As winter comes to a close and spring approaches, the track season begins. On February 13, the track team ran their first meet in the North Texas Winter 3200m/800m. This season opener was an opportunity for some of the freshman runners to gain experience running in high school.
“I was sick and very out of shape, not running for one-and-a-half weeks, so it did not feel good at all. My lungs were hurting and overall I knew that it was pretty bad but I’m trying to move past that and get faster,” freshman 800m runner Dennis Johnson said.
While it was not the outcome he anticipated, it was still his personal best in the event, showing his improvements as a runner as a whole.
“We have been running every day and doing workouts since December and we are working hard to produce a great team,” Johnson said.
Each day they train and continue to improve. In a sport where fitness means everything, practicing every day is crucial.
“We’ve been doing various workouts like 400m repeats and long runs which will help our running skills throughout the season,” freshman 800m runner Ayden Ijaz said. “I believe that the season will head in a positive direction. We just need more time to get into the flow of things and sharpen our flaws in training.”
While Reedy’s sprinters have not yet had their season opener, they have still been working hard.
“The pre-season is going well so far, I guess the biggest challenge is just waking up in the morning to get practice at 7:30 in the morning,” varsity sprinter Grayson Jennings said.
Athletes emphasized the importance of the first few milliseconds when the sprint starts.
“I definitely want to work on my start to get faster,” Jennings said. “A few milliseconds is huge in sprinting,”
“I’m working on my start. The first couple steps out of the box was my biggest struggle last year,” varsity sprinter Aaron Stringfellow said.
Several athletes said they were motivated by the achievement and growth they’ll see after the grind. Stringfellow said he consistently reminds himself of the reward “that you’ll get during the season. You work hard before the season to earn your season.”
“Just know that at the end you’ll get better. The more work you put in the more you’ll get out of it,” varsity sprinter and basketball player Cooper Hewitt said.
Athletes also note the struggles and facts that people don’t usually realize.
“People usually don’t realize the level of competition we have to go against. Some people assume that sprinting is mid, but in reality it is very competitive,” Stringfellow said.
“Sprinting ends in just a few seconds but for that moment we have to put in hours and hours of work,” Hewitt said. “People don’t usually realize that.”
