(INTRODUCTION: What makes cross country a terrific sport? For Meredith Ackley '21, it's a sport where the success of the team depends on everyone working together and running their best. There is a strong team motivation with each individual wanting everyone to succeed.)
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Is cross country a big test of endurance more than anything else?
Endurance is definitely an important component of cross country, both physically and mentally, but it is also about racing in the moment and working with your teammates to put each other in positions to all do your best. Cross country is very team-oriented in that the success of the team really depends on all of the scorers running their best, and that is usually most likely to happen when everyone is packed together to motivate and help each other perform well. You have to be present at all times, racing the people around you. Using your strengths at key points in races is also important to give yourself an advantage over your competitors, such as working the hills, or starting your kick early when you know those are places that can give you an edge over your competitors.
What made it appealing as opposed to sprints or middle distance races?
I ran middle distance in high school, but I liked cross country better because I found it much more satisfying to start at Point A and end at Point B and feel like I'd actually moved a significant distance. Later in high school, I was improving much more in cross country compared to track, and knew I was far more of an endurance athlete than a speed athlete. I realized I could hold a decent pace for longer than other runners, but I was definitely not going to be the quickest off the line, so sprinting was never really appealing to me.
When did you really "get into" distance running? How did you become involved?
I started running cross country my freshman year of high school when I realized I didn't actually have any interest in soccer anymore. A couple of my good friends had started cross country & track in middle school and they were really into it, and my brother was on the high school team and loved it, so I figured I might as well give it a try. I actually swam in the winter throughout high school, so I never ran indoor track before coming to UR. I was also on the lacrosse team my freshman year of high school, so I didn't even start running track until my sophomore year when I decided I'd rather pursue running.
At Lincoln-Sudbury HS in Massachusetts, you ran XC in the fall, then competed in swimming, and finished with outdoor track. Was there any chance to get a break for yourself?
It was a pretty packed schedule, having to transition each season. As soon as cross country ended in November, I would immediately start going to captain's practices for swimming. The seasons usually overlapped for about a week. Then, when the swim season ended, I would have about 2 weeks before spring track started up. It kept me very busy, but also kept me in the routine of balancing school and athletics without getting too used to having more time between seasons.
Was it a challenging transition to go from cross country to swimming? Which events did you swim?
Transitioning from cross country to swimming was actually great. I would come off cross country in great shape and it translated really well to swimming with great breath control and my legs feeling really strong. I swam distance events, mostly the 200 or 500 yard freestyle, but my favorite was definitely the 500. During the swim season, I would always favor upper body strength over kicking, so I found transitioning from swimming back to outdoor track to be much more challenging when I had to get my running legs back.
Some athletes have talked about adjustments they had to make, going from scholastic competition to college competition. Is it a different sport on the college level? How is it different?
I think the college level definitely demands more of you than the high school level. I came from a great high school program, but that training was still far less than what we are doing at the collegiate level. I now run much higher mileage than I would in high school, with my weekly average probably about double that of high school. There is also a very heavy emphasis on summer training in college to come into the cross country season with great fitness to prepare you to perform your best when it counts. There is a very strong team motivation as well at the collegiate level. Everyone is very dedicated to the team and genuinely wants each one of their teammates to succeed.
Did you change your training regimen, or perhaps your strategy in a race since you have been a first-year?
As a first-year, I trained mostly for the 5k, as Coach (Eddie) Novara generally has first-years adjust to the jump to collegiate intensity and higher mileage before beginning to train for the 10k. Then, as a sophomore, I began really training for the 10k, which included much higher volume workouts and was more endurance-based to prepare for running a much longer race on the track. In terms of racing, I have come to embrace the idea of being comfortable being uncomfortable. Eventually, that uncomfortable pace begins to feel more comfortable as you get used to it and you can push it to the next level. Feeling too good usually means there's more to give and I could be running faster. I've also fully embraced how important it is to work with your teammates in a race to help each other out, trade off leads, and keep the pace up for everyone to do their best.
You produced your career-best time in the 10,000 meters at RIT in late April. How do you keep focus on the race when you are going around the same track more than 20 times?
That is honestly the reason I ran mid-distance in high school: that many laps was so daunting. I find keeping focus in a 10k can sometimes be just about as challenging as the physical race itself. We usually approach the 10k more as two 5k's with strategies for each 5k to break it up and only focus on one at a time. Usually, Coach Novara will call out 400m splits each lap, and we go into it with goal paces for each part. Only thinking about one lap at a time is much easier to wrap my head around and little adjustments are much easier to make. I also try to dissociate the lap count from the actual distance to make it feel more arbitrary and I'm less aware of the actual distance left in the race. Support from my teammates is also crucial in a 10k because you are out there for a long time and very aware of your surroundings for the most part and how you're feeling, so hearing teammates cheering and playing music is enough motivation for me to stay in it mentally and physically.
When you are home, do you work with any youth programs – coaching, counseling, working behind the scenes, etc.? What do you like about doing that?
I worked as a swim coach for a competitive youth team for six summers and I absolutely loved it. It's the best feeling to work with these kids every day and see their improvement over the course of the summer, and for many kids, I've gotten to see their improvement over six years. I love when all the little pieces of feedback start clicking together and the kids start feeling and seeing the difference themselves. Seeing their excitement when they drop time in their races makes it so rewarding.
When was your first contact with the University of Rochester?
The University of Rochester actually wasn't really on my radar when I started the college search, but I was coming out to New York to visit some other schools, so we decided I might as well visit if we were already out here. The entire time I was on my visit, I just loved the atmosphere. Everyone was so friendly, and I could tell that all the talk about UR being a collaborative environment was genuine. One of my teammates on my high school swim team came to UR the year before, so I also talked with her and she showed me around a bit too. I left knowing I could absolutely see myself here for the next four years.
What factors helped you decide that you wanted to compete here and to study here?
I was drawn to UR for the academics and the flexible curriculum. I knew I (probably) wanted to pursue engineering, and UR has a great reputation and strong engineering programs, but I was also feeling pretty indecisive, so the flexible curriculum was nice to know I could try some different things out if I wanted. Once I got in and decided UR was where I wanted to be, I contacted Coach Novara because I ended my senior cross country season on a good note and had just kept improving throughout the season, so I felt like I wasn't ready to give up my running career. We talked and decided I would be a good fit, and here we are now.
Why did you choose Biomedical Engineering as your major?
I was always drawn to biology in high school, but I thought the more purely science-based routes would lead me to research, which I didn't really think was the path I wanted. And I am very intrigued by medicine, but couldn't picture myself going the med school route either. When I found out about BME (especially the Cell & Tissue concentration), I realized it was the perfect combination of biology, medicine, and the application aspect of engineering to put all my interests together and it was a great fit.
Have you worked with any campus groups tied to your studies?
My first year, I did a little bit with BMES (Biomedical Engineering Society), but I didn't really stick with it when I got busier, and otherwise haven't really been involved in campus groups related to my studies. I definitely wish I had stuck with it and gotten more involved with BMES because they offer a lot of great resources and opportunities.
