People will talk about the mud bath that was the 2005 Central District XC Championships for a long time to come.  They’ll talk about how waterlogged spiked feet, weighed down by clumps of mud and grit, stampeded over the swamp of a course.  How runners, flailing to maintain balance, fought for regional qualification and another precious week of cross country.  How true cross country runners rise to the occasion, despite the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them.  And they’ll talk about how the Panthers from Hilliard Darby made the drab afternoon look like just another day at the beach. 

Before this past Saturday, no Darby team had ever won a District title.  That’s ancient history now as both the guys and girls from Hilliard are aiming towards a berth in the state meet.  With twin trophies from OCC’s and Districts now in the Darby trophy case, the teams are only a step away from their season-long goal of lining up against the best of the best at Scioto Downs.  Playing a huge role in this Renaissance of Darby XC is one of the top brother-sister combos in the state.  The Alpeters, Aaron and Erika, are on a roll. 

As a senior captain, Aaron leads his team from within a solid varsity pack as a shining example of hard work and dedication.  Sophomore Erika leads from the front.  This past weekend, running a 19:52 in conditions that most SUV’s couldn’t navigate through, Erika came through with what Aaron refers to as “her first District title.”  That little extra word “first” implies that this big brother sees the coming years as exciting ones for Darby and the Alpeters.  And why not?  The teams are on hot winning streaks at the time when it matters most, and individual Darby runners are even winning races like the JV District Championships.  Plus, there are three more Alpeters growing into potential candidates for future Darby teams… 

The seeds of the current season were sown long ago for the Alpeters.  This is a family of runners like few others.  “I don't really know how to explain,” Aaron says.  “Running has always been something very special in our family.  It almost seemed to be the social norm.” 

Aaron's early season efforts set up a PR at conference.

Erika pulls away on a sloppy district course. 

ERIKA SIDEBAR- 

While some runners are purely long distance runners, Erika Alpeter is an all-around athlete and sports fan.  “I love to watch OSU football and play softball.”  She even says, “I am considering picking gymnastics up again.”  Her brother will point out that Erika has never placed worse than 16^th in a race, and that was at the state cross country meet, but Erika shyly shrugs off the accolades.  Competing at both the cross country and track state meets last year, as a freshman, were fun accomplishments, but Erika sees more in her running than an impressive resume.  “I like running,” she says.  “I love to run long runs.  I love to run in the grass and down hills...not so much the going up part though.”  Softball played a large role in Erika’s middle school athletics career, and she admits that “it was hard to give it up.  I missed it really bad.”  However, her high school running has come with new challenges and new friends.  Teammate Emmeline Gattie remarks that “Erika amazes me because she does so much outside of running and she is still such an awesome runner and person.”   

Although the day-to-day runs with the team keep Erika excited about the sport, her performances don’t come as easily as they look.  Of the tough workouts that the team runs, Erika says her greatest challenge is that “I settle with mediocrity.  I also have a problem with dreading some of our harder workouts.  I need to accept nothing but my best (which I am still trying to figure out) and work harder in the ‘hard’ practices.”  As she confronts these challenges, she only grows stronger and stronger.  “My PR as a freshman in a 5K was 18:35, and this year it is 18:21,” she notes.  The times continue to drop, but it’s the thrill of the run that draws Erika Alpeter to run into the future.   

Mom and Dad ran for Otterbein College.  Aunts and uncles ran in high school.  Grandpa Ken Alpeter, at 79, continues to run.  The oldest of the Alpeter siblings, Aaron remembers becoming a runner himself back in sixth grade.  “My dad gave my baseball glove to my little brother and gave me a pair of running shoes,” he says.  That was all it took.  Following in the footsteps of his father, a 14:34 5,000m runner during his days at Otterbein, Aaron dedicated himself to becoming the best possible runner that he could become.  “There’s a two mile loop around our house that we would run for bragging rights,” he says of the friendly competition within a running household.  It wasn’t long before Erika began to lace up running shoes of her own.  “I have grown up knowing about the sport of cross country, and I guess that I have always assumed that I would run.  It was never a question,” she says.  “My mom runs, my dad runs, my grandpa runs, my brother runs, and even my eleven year old brother runs.  No one pushed me into running.  I guess that it was just natural to choose to run.”  Her first season of middle school cross country came with immediate success.  “I was the best on the team, kind of,” Erika remembers of seventh grade.  “It wasn’t that serious.”  The miles have piled up ever since, and the duo transitioned from middle school running to high school competition.  Big things were about to happen.

Recalling last year, Aaron says that it was at the OCC championship meet that he realized just what his sister was capable of in a competitive situation.  “I knew something was up in middle school when she won all of her races with ease.  The big shock was at the OCC meet last year when she won.  I was like, ‘Dang!  She’s good!’” he laughs.  This year, Erika made it two-for-two with her second straight OCC title.  Winning the race in 18:58, she led the Panthers to a 27 to 44 victory over traditional regional powerhouse Upper Arlington.  Making the day even sweeter for the Alpeter family was Aaron’s first sub-17 clocking over 5k.  Finishing in 16:59 on his home course, Aaron’s eighth place finish helped cinch up the team title for Darby’s guys.   

Unique challenges come up whenever siblings take part in the same activities.  Aaron cites “learning to become Erika's biggest fan” as the greatest challenge of competing in the same sport as his sister.  “As can be imagined, it could be hard for an upperclassman to see his freshman sister take central Ohio by storm and instantly be compared to her, not by times, but place, by his teachers and peers,” he says of last year’s cross season.  “Let me say this, I have never known somebody more driven and determined as my sister.  She is amazing…I'm very proud to share my last name with her.”  Erika enjoys the support of having her brother in the big meets with her.  “It’s nice.  I know what he’s going through and how much he’s put into this,” she says of watching her brother race along the same courses that she herself runs.  “My brother is always working hard, no matter what.  I try to push myself because I don't want to let my brother be the only one working!  We compare workouts sometimes, and he is always running crazy fast stuff and I am always amazed.  If he can do it, why can't I?”  Feeding off of one another’s successes, both Aaron and Erika are now enjoying their best seasons to date. 

The cross country state meet remains the immediate goal for both Aaron and Erika, but they keep their plates full with other activities as well.  Daily 6am seminary classes kick the day off each morning, and activities ranging from National Honor Society, Student Athletic Council, Student Senate, Red Cross, Eagle Scouts, and the school orchestra dominate their busy schedules.  “Effective time management is crucial,” Aaron grossly understates.  “I am quite a perfectionist,” Erika admits.  “I take forever on my school work.  I am either doing homework, running, sleeping, eating, or at church.”  It takes dedication to maintain schedules like these, but the two thrive on it.  Both are 4.0+ students.  To top it off, Aaron has added the college search to his packed schedule, and he’s narrowed the choices down to a few finalists.  Of his college years, one thing’s for sure, he says.  “I definitely want to run.  I love it too much to quit.”  After his collegiate running career, Aaron says, “I plan on running throughout the rest of my life…I want to prolong becoming fat as long as possible!”

Celebrations at the district meet were well earned by the Darby runners this year, but the teams are now aiming at bigger and better things.  The state meet remains on the horizon.  “The team is so good this year,” Erika says of the Darby top seven.  “State is the goal…I’d like to be top five,” she says of the ultimate plan.  Aaron’s assessment of the guys echoes his sister’s.  “This is the best team we’ve ever had,” he says.  “Qualifying for state is definitely the goal.”  For the Alpeters, every post-season meet takes on added significance as these are the last high school meets that Aaron and Erika will share as competitors.  Forget about sentimentality, though, they’ve come to compete.  Long after the muddy paths of the district course harden back up and the last of the missing shoes are retrieved from the flooded corners of the course, though, Aaron and Erika Alpeter will be able to look back on the 2005 OHSAA cross country post-season as a special one for the Alpeters and their extended family, the Hilliard Darby cross country teams.

AARON SIDEBAR-

Modest.  Humble.  Hardworking.  Goal-oriented.  These are the terms that best describe our favorite distance runners.  In a sport where seconds separate the champions from the also-rans and a season-threatening injury is always just a misstep away, traits like these allow great runners to keep things in perspective while they enjoy their sport.  Aaron Alpeter demonstrates these traits with a maturity beyond his years.  

The way in which someone describes others often reflects upon oneself, and Aaron isn’t shy when it comes to admitting that he looks up to not only his own teammates but to those who he competes against.  “I've always admired those competitors who work their tails off and still retain some degree of modesty,” he says.  “I hope my coach will forgive me for naming runners from rival teams, but Ben Engelhardt fits this mold pretty well.  I was able to talk with him before he crushed me and the rest of the field in the 3200 last spring and he struck me as one of the most kind and humble people I've ever met.  He didn't act like he was my superior even though he was.  He probably doesn't remember our conversation or who I am, but he has the traits of a true champion.”  In regards to the injured high school superstar, Aaron says, “I wish him a speedy recovery.”  Even when it comes to cross-town rivals, Aaron recognizes strong examples.  “I've also been impressed with Nathan Tavenor from Davidson.  I've never met him, but that kid knows how to push himself and work hard.  He has made a huge improvement since his freshman year.  He's another example of what the outcome is when a runner isn't afraid to work hard everyday.”   

Aaron says that “my best friend's favorite quote is ‘Hard work pays off later, laziness pays off now.’  It's no wonder why he doesn't run.”  Like the competitors that he looks up to, though Aaron shows a focus quite apart from his friend’s.  “I can be very focused on whatever I'm doing, and subsequently block most other things out of my mind…Training and racing in general teaches you self-mastery over your body and gives you mental toughness.  These traits alone would benefit anyone in just about every aspect of their life.” 

Erika rolls to another first place finish. Regionals are up next for the Erika and the Darby girls with a state bid within reach.

Aaron's in there somewhere, slicing through the snow at the CRC Fantastic Frigid 5k. Off season training is key.
This particular training technique was first used in Russia by Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV.