As sophomore Scarlett Pearlman, junior Grace Meyer and seniors Grace Strongman and Kate Kowalik navigate across Mission Road and Roe Avenue on their daily runs, they tally how many times they almost get hit by cars passing by — their current total is six.
Every weekday between the cross country and track seasons, the girls meet in the junior parking lot to begin their workout. Whether they run their go-to routes through Mission Hills or Ward Parkway or find new spots like the Trolley Trail, running with each other year-round has kept them motivated when training for their seasons. The girls run five to six days a week for anywhere from three to 10 miles a day.
After training all summer, the girls cross country team placed fourth at the State meet on Oct. 31 — their best performance in more than 20 years. Strongman and Meyer were named all-state runners, which means they placed in the top 20 runners at the state meet, and every member of the team achieved a personal best time during the season.
Meyer thinks that the supportive atmosphere created by the team is part of what helps every runner do their best at meets. Whether they’re shouting words of encouragement or running across the course to cheer their teammates on, the team urges every runner to work their hardest.
“At meets we’re always cheering each other on,” Meyer said. “We all know everyone on the team, and everyone always tries to be there for each other.”
Although their season was filled with unknowns, the girls had their running group as a constant. To lessen the risk of contracting COVID-19 and control contact tracing, the girls were placed in a running cohort together during the season and have continued to run together after the cross country season ended. According to Pearlman, this made the girls even closer.
“We’re like a family,” Pearlman said. “Especially this year since it was a smaller group. Since we were put into groups, the group that we were in was really tight.”
All of the members describe the dynamic of the team in the same way — a family. They spend nearly every week of the year running together, chatting about their next meet or events happening in their lives such as an upcoming Physics test or their goal race times. During the season, they spend their Friday nights at team dinners eating as much pasta and bread as they can to carb load for their Saturday morning race.
The girls run dozens of miles a week, doing sprints and long runs. The similar workouts have led the team to find ways to make them more entertaining, like blasting music or joking around throughout the runs.
“We have workouts at Windsor Park, and we listen to crazy music when we do those workouts,” Strongman said. “We have a shared playlist, with all kinds of rap music.”
While all of the girls love the sport, running together has kept them motivated to run every day, even when the temperature is below freezing or there’s snow on the ground.
“When it’s snowing it sucks, but we’re all out there doing it together,” Kowalik said. “It makes it fun to be out there.”
Training between the fall and spring seasons helps the girls keep their stamina and create a starting point for their races as Lancers.
“Especially when the weather’s bad, it can be hard to get yourself going,” Meyer said. “But it’s always better if you’re running with someone. That’s why we run together during the winter.”
Running every day isn’t easy — each team member can easily go through multiple pairs of running shoes a year. Training in a group helps the girls stay on top of their workouts. Some days they might not feel like running, but they still get on their tennis shoes and running shorts because they know their teammates are waiting for them in the junior lot.
“It’s more motivating when you have someone to run with,” Pearlman said. “That’s why we meet after school, because, for me at least, if I’m sitting by myself at home and it’s some day that I have to run, I don’t feel like doing it at all. And sometimes I don’t do it. Being with the team helps me get motivated to run.”