In His Own Words: Will Shaughnessy



Hey hey runners!


Well here we are, the championship season. Hopefully you all had successful regional meets, but at long last, the race everyone has been preparing all year for is finally here. I'm sure a lot of you are nervous, which is good! That means you really care about what you're doing.

I have but one piece of advice for all you people mentally preparing yourself for Saturday. Don't be afraid to push it. Seems simple right? Yet still I often see people afraid to really discover their true potential in this sport. Some people give a lot of thought into pacing, which don't get me wrong, is a great thing to do. But it becomes a problem when people get too caught up in splits and begin to panic if they go out too fast or too slow.

My opinion: Throw those splits out the window! Races are unpredictable, you never know what the conditions will be like, how others will decide to run their race etc. I find it's effective to latch on to someone who is has been consistently faster than you, and just hang on for dear life. You never know what you can accomplish until you try.

You may tell yourself you have no chance of beating someone, but how can you say that with certainty without even attempting to? Obviously be somewhat reasonable, a runner who runs an 18 minute 5k probably shouldn't be running with runners who run around 16 minutes, or even 17 minutes. But if that 18 minute 5k runner can find someone who has consistently been 20-30 seconds ahead of them, that person may be a good one to latch onto. Obviously you should trust your own judgement, but all I'm saying is don't be afraid to challenge yourself and have high expectations! You can always give it more than what you think you have. When your legs feel heavy and you're finding it's harder to breathe, push harder! Ignore the voice in your head that's telling you to stop. Take risks and discover your true potential. Take a chance, and it just might pay off. As the old Nike advertising statement goes, it's only crazy until you do it.


See you all on the line this Saturday!


-Will


Please note blog was submitted before the state meet but we didn't have time to post, but we still thought the advice was great and wanted to share with you all.