Name: Lily Koffman
School: Orono High School
What was your most memorable race?
The Eastern Maine regional cross country championship at Belfast my sophomore year was the most crazy and fun race I have ever done. It rained for a week straight before the race and the Class C girls raced last, so the course was beyond muddy and even had a river running through it at one point. Carsyn Koch described competing on the course as “running in peanut butter.” Like many cross country teams, we do annual mud runs and love the mud, so we got super excited, embraced the conditions, and had the time of our lives racing.
Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
For the past two years, I have been lucky to have three extremely talented teammates: Becky Lopez-Anido, Hannah Steelman, and Kassidy Dill. We each have different strengths and push each other during races and workouts. These girls are both my biggest competition and biggest supporters. I’ve also enjoyed competing with Tia Tardy, Anne Mckee, Hannah Austin, and the entire MDI team.
What was your greatest accomplishment?
I’ve won six team state championships in running at OHS, but I’m most proud of our first cross country championship in 2013, which was the first cross country championship for OHS in over 30 years. We steadily improved throughout the season by implementing pack running- a strategy borrowed from MDI. Pack running took a lot of patience and trust, but it ultimately paid off. Still, we were big underdogs, and I never truly believed we could win until the awards ceremony. More than any individual accomplishment or PR, this win truly taught me the power of team and of belief.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
I would have run cross country my freshman year instead of playing soccer. I had always done track but I had no idea that I would fall in love with running in the woods too.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
One of my biggest obstacles has been learning to train and race smarter, not harder. This is a work in progress and certainly not something I have “overcome,” but I have gotten better at taking days off when injured, keeping easy runs easy, and moderating workouts when exhausted or sick. I’ve also struggled with some health issues that took a concerted effort to overcome.
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the camaraderie both within my team and with other teams, and the community support and encouragement. It’s unlikely that I will ever again be on the front page of a newspaper for winning a conference championship or that a random man driving by me and my teammates while we’re running will congratulate us for winning a state championship.
What advice you would give to younger athletes?
Take your sport seriously; make sure to do the little things like warm up, cool down, stretch, foam roll, hydrate, and eat well so that you are prepared to have the best performance possible. At the same time, remember to keep perspective. Your world should not revolve around a PR and it’s truly not worth it if you’re not having fun.
What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
My track and skiing coaches have taught me everything I know about the mental and physical preparation necessary to achieve performance goals. More importantly, my coaches have led by example and thereby shown me how to be passionate, committed, involved in the community, enthusiastic, caring, perceptive, and positive.
What are your college plans?
I’m attending Harvard and planning on nordic skiing there.
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I would like to thank my teammates (especially “the pack”), for pushing and supporting me; my coaches, for being excellent role models, listeners, and trainers; my parents, for organizing team dinners, barbecues and food tables, taking thousands of pictures, attending nearly every competition, and listening to me whine about bad races; and my brother Jake for making me hit the weights when I least wanted to, being my number one fan, and motivating me with his incredible work ethic and impressive throwing performances.
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Do you know a class of 2015 track and field or cross country athlete? We'd like to salute them! Have them answer the following questions plus send 2-3 photos (can not be from another website or publication) to dveilleux@milesplit.us