Carsyn Koch Jr. Washburn HS
Last year you placed you placed 7th overall running 19:59, do you feel you are ready to run faster this year? Or will you be more focused on running for place?
This year I do feel ready to run faster. I’m hoping to place around 5th or maybe even 4th this year at FOC. It’s a big goal, but I try to push myself by setting high goals. Last year it was very muddy on the course, which I think definitely affected times. I’m hoping to run around 19:30 or 19:20 for this race. I would rather get my placement goal than my time goal, but as long as I know I did my best, either will be good enough for me.
Last week you ran 19:56 for 5k and apparently took a wrong turn, does that fast of a race give you confidence heading into FOC?
Last race was, wellll, interesting to say the least! There was a part of the course that branched off into two different directions at the top of a small incline. I was focused on trucking up that little hill, to gain some ground on the MDI girl that was right on my tail. When I looked down I saw the arrows for another part of the course and my tired brain must have thought that was the way to go! I ran probably 50 steps onto that path before a nice lady from John Bapst, thumped me with her clipboard, and told me to go the other way. Lucky enough for the MDI girl, someone had grabbed her jersey before she went too far down the path I had gone. I was pretty surprised when I saw my time, because I had wasted precious seconds first going the wrong way, and then having to push harder to catch up to the MDI runner. It definitely helped my confidence running a 19:56 even though I decided to take the scenic route earlier in the race. I’m hoping I can push myself even harder for FOC, and stay on course!
You made the decision to give up soccer this year, which couldn’t have been easy but you must have realized that you had some serious potential in running. How has the transition gone from part time runner to full time runner?
It took me from the end of last year’s cross country season, until half-way through this summer to finally make my decision about this fall. When I was a little girl, the only sport I played was soccer. I wasn’t a huge fan of basketball and I had never even heard of cross country. I loved the adrenaline rush of a one-on-one sprint to the ball, or the exhilaration I felt when I struck the ball well enough to score. At first, quitting soccer and becoming fully dedicated to cross country, wasn’t even an option in my mind. I would get so angry when people would tell me that I couldn’t do both forever. I guess you could say I had the typical mindset of an invincible teenager. I remember clearly, eating Chinese with just my parents and having a conversation about what I wanted in the fall. They told me exactly this, “We know this is a tough decision for you Cars, but we love you and we will support you in whatever you choose to do.” As much as I loved soccer, I decided that it was time to put things into perspective. I could easily get hurt in soccer and blow all chances of the athletic scholarship I hoped to get in the future. I wanted to see what I could do through running, without the physical toll of soccer on my body. The hardest part about my decision, was the beginning of the season. Soccer starts with 2 or 3 games a week, where cross country comes into swing a little later. I would go to as many games as I could because I still wanted to support my girls, but emotionally it was tough. Every single game, I would have people drill me about why I wasn’t playing. Why aren’t you playing? You did both last year. Why can’t you just do it again? Wow, you’re choosing that over soccer? I had to remember that my goal was in the future, and that good things don’t come easily. As the season has progressed, I have gotten used to playing only one sport. I have more energy, and I don’t’ feel like I’m torn between two teams all the time. I know I made the right decision, even though it wasn’t easy at the time.
Your team has had a strong fall, what goals do you have going into this meet?
This year we have had a lot of success as a team. The girls have shown improvement in every race and determination to do the best they can in the coming races. Without giving too much of our game plan away, we are hoping to use this race as a predictor for states. We want to see how we will match up with teams like Merriconeag, Orono, and Waynflete. This will also be a good chance for our freshman runners to experience what a big race feels like.
You’ve run in the FOC before, what is your favorite memory of the race?
I’ve only run in FOC one year, but my favorite memory of that race was how funny everyone looked at the end. We all looked like we had taken mud baths! The course was so squishy and wet that you could help having half of it caked to your shoes! It wasn’t the best race for times, but it was fun hearing all the stories of people slipping and sliding their way to the finish.
