Salute to Seniors: Emily Durgin Cheverus HS
What was your most memorable race?
My most memorable race is track New England’s my freshman year. I was seated in the 3200 & I believe I was predicted to be 8th with my time of 11:11, but I ended up running a PR of 10:57 and finishing 4th. It was a great way to end my first year running in High School.
Out of all of your high school accomplishments which stands out the most?
I am so lucky to be able to say I am a footlocker finalist. This accomplishment really stands out the most to me, and it was an amazing experience. I met many of the top high school runners in the country that I will run against during my college career. I built a friendship with many of them, and I continue to stay in touch with the girls.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
If I could change anything about my running career I wouldn’t put so much pressure on myself. As runners we always want to PR every race or have a great finishes, but this is unrealistic. I did not accept this fact for most of my high school career, and I was very hard on myself if I had a “bad race” in my eyes. I learned that to be successful you are going to have some bad races, but you will reach success if you continue to strive to improve. In the end you can always get better!
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
During High School I had many obstacles I had to overcome. I dealt with minor injuries, anemia, and mental struggles. As runners we will all go through many obstacles where we will fail to overcome at first, but eventually you can overcome them is you stick with it. I know that these obstacles are meant to pop up throughout time to help me become a more physically and mentally stronger runner.
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the closeness of the running community we have here in Maine. I have gotten to know all of the runners and supporters. I know I will always have the support from this small community.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
I am so happy to see the amount of talented Maine runners we have developed in the past few years. It is amazing to have multiple runners that are nationally ranked. My only advice is enjoy it & have fun. Many of you have the talent to run in college & beyond. So make sure you enjoy every part of your High School career running & non running events!
What advice have your coaches had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
I am blessed to have met many people would have helped me become the runner and person I am today during these past 4 years. The time and patients they have put into making me a more successful runner is something I appreciate very much. They always encouraged me to believe in myself and to never give up. My life goal is to see how far I can go with my running career, and I will continue to do that!
What are your college plans?
I am going to be running cross country, indoor & outdoor track for uconn! I am so excited to be a part of a team that has grown immensely over the past few years.
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I would like to thank everyone in the Maine running community. You were all very supportive over the past 4 years, and just a great group of people. Also I would like to thanks Derek for all his time and energy he puts into this amazing website. It truly is the best State website on milesplit, and it stands out! As Maine runners we receive a lot of notice through Mainetrackxc.com so we all own him a BIG thanks!!!
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Want to be featured in our Salute To Seniors series? Drop me a line: Dveilleux@milesplit.com and answer the questions above! Congratulations to the class of 2012 on all their hard work and success.
