By Amanda Nguyen
<[email protected]>

She was on the running course, at the age of only 11, already training for the cross-country team here and her chance to shine.

Renee Wellman, runner on the varsity women’s cross-country team and freshman, started training for cross-country the summer before her sixth grade year. In seventh and eighth grade, she was the Hamilton County middle school champion as well as the record-setter at Clay Middle School for running a 3K in 10:20. Mark Ellington, the Clay Middle School cross-country coach, organized a Junior Olympics team and won the Regional competition. Wellman said she placed seventh when the Junior Olympics team traveled to Kansas in December for the National competition.

“Experience is important because you need to learn how to pace yourself and respond to competition and how the other girls are running,” Wellman said.

More and more people like Wellman are training for athletics at a younger age. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “There appear to be increasing numbers of children who specialize in a sport at an early age, train year-round for a sport, and/or compete on an ‘elite’ level.” Because athletes start training earlier, they are more experienced by the time they get to high school. This was the case for Wellman and Kristen Schulz, varsity cross-country runner and senior.

Schulz started running in eighth grade and said, “I think experience helps you feel more comfortable because you know more about running.”

The competition level in high school has become more vigorous due to the increasing number of athletes who have had years of training. To do so well in competitions at such a young age, Wellman said she had to practice long, hard hours.

“Practice is important because otherwise your body won’t be able to perform well during the race,” Wellman said. She said she trained hard over the summer to prepare for this season. “I learned to run at a harder pace for a longer distance.” In addition to practicing, she has a ritual to prepare for each meet. Wellman said, “I drink water and eat a couple hours before the race. I also try very hard to think positively.”

At this school, according to Schulz, upperclassmen don’t discourage underclassmen if the younger athletes beat them out; they welcome their new teammates with open arms. Schulz said, “A talented freshman can affect others by encouraging people to do better in their own performances on the team. It builds the team as a whole to become more talented.”

Head Coach Chuck Koeppen said that talented freshmen are a great addition to the team. Koeppen said, “[Talented freshmen] will make the returning varsity girls work even harder.”

A little friendly competition every once in a while doesn’t hurt, and Schulz even said the added competition brings out the best in Carmel’s runners. She said, “A talented freshman can affect the whole team because it pushes everyone else on the team to do better too. One person, in any grade, can make a big difference when it comes to scoring a cross-country meet. Every little bit counts.”
Unfortunately, training longer and harder often causes injuries and mental or physical burn-out. Wellman said, “I haven’t witnessed any burn-out, but there are many athletes who have had their seasons cut short by injury. I try to listen to my coaches and do the stretching and mileage that they recommend so I don’t get injured.”

Being a four-year veteran on the cross-country team, Schulz witnessed multiple injuries and burn-outs. She said, “Mental burn-out usually happens towards the end of the season. There are more physical burn-outs either because people over-trained or because people didn’t train enough. People get injured because they don’t have good base because they didn’t have enough training. Most injuries in cross-country are tendonitis, hip problems or stress fractures from over-working. Some people cross-train to prevent injuries.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “The ever-increasing requirements for success creates a constant pressure for athletes to train longer, harder, more intelligently, and, in some cases, at an earlier age.” But this isn’t necessarily true for Wellman.

Wellman said she strives to be successful, but she does not feel pressured by the older girls. She said, “They encourage me and the other freshmen because they want the team to do well at meets. Cross-country is a team sport.”

Schulz said, “Cross-country is an amazing team sport that makes running fun and exciting because of all the great people. Varsity may have faster times, but everyone on the team pushes each other to do their best. It’s a team sport and everyone is supportive of each other.”