Chatting with Sarah Hutchinson, a senior at Olentangy Liberty High School

PR’s:
3200m – 12:17
5k XC – 20:59 

CRC: When did you begin running?  And what drew you into the sport of cross country?
Sarah Hutchinson: I began running my 8th grade year.  I decided to run track because it seemed like it would be a fun thing to do and a lot of my friends ran on the track team in 7th grade and had a lot of fun.

CRC: So far, what has been your greatest running memory?
SH: It was my junior year and all but two of the junior girls decided it would be a good idea to t-p this one girl.  Not to be mean or anything, just because they were bored.  And basically, they were caught and the police brought one of the girls home and made everyone else involved clean up the t-p.  One of my friends hid in the woods for 45 minutes and the police were about to send out a search party, helicopters, and night vision goggles to find her.  It was a very dumb decision but at the same time it was pretty funny. 

CRC: That sounds like par for the course with a group of XC runners… Anyway, getting back on track, what are your personal goals for this season?  What are your long term running goals?
SH: A short term goal is to run sub 20 in a 5k meet by the end of my senior season.  And a long term goal is to run both cross country and track for Otterbein College.  After college I want to run marathons...but that’s a ways down the road.

CRC: We’re big fans of the Otterbein team and tradition, and that should make for a great next step in your running career.  For now though, the Liberty girls are looking good this year.  What are the team goals for the season?  Who should we be watching for on the team?
SH: Thanks.  Everyone puts a lot of heart into it.  Some team goals this year would be to have our varsity or at least 5 of us run in the 20s.  We have a really good pack and all run around the same time.  A goal that we had and accomplished was to win the county meet because (Coach) Sweeney's won it every year except for last, and we won it by taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  Team bonding was another goal we had in mind for the team at the beginning of the year because I think it’s really important and I would think that most of the girls would think that as well.  Some girls to watch for would be Arwen Marker.  She’s kicking some major butt this year, having run in the 20s for most of the season, and she won the county meet.  Erica Hamon runs in the 20s as well and I think she has a lot of potential for years to come.  Katie Stanfill, Chealse Dunlinger, Alyssa Schramm, and Alyssa Haydorn are all very promising runners as well. 

CRC: What’s your favorite cross country meet?  Why?
SH: Probably OCC’s because it’s cooler then and we’re getting far into fall and the leaves are changing color.

CRC: Every runner loves the fall season!  Aside from races, tell us about your team.  What do you like about your team that makes you girls unique and different? 
SH: I love my team.  Especially this year because we've grown closer as a team and everyone cares about everyone.  We have lots of pasta parties and get-togethers.  Everyone gets along, which facilitates having all of these events.  Something that makes us unique would be the size of our team; we have 52 girls and 2 coaches which can make things a little crazy sometimes.

CRC: That’s like a little army almost.  Very cool.  So, when you’re with those other 51 girls, what’s your favorite workout?  What kind of training do you girls do?
SH: My favorite workout would have to be mile repeats.  While you do them, you hate them, but once they’re done you feel pretty good.  We do different things (in training).  Monday-Wednesday are hard days, Tuesdays are long easy day, Thursdays we do form running and have a medium length run and play some kind of a game like soccer or kickball, Fridays are a moderate run with some cut downs on the track, Saturday is race day, and Sunday is off.

CRC: With this being your senior year, what are your goals for life after high school?  What do you want to do after you're finished with school?
SH: I want to go to college, hopefully at Otterbein.  As a career I want to be a middle school teacher and coach cross country.

CRC: Coaching, huh?  That’s awesome.  We’ll send out kids to whichever school you end up coaching at – deal?  Anyway, outside of running, what do you like to do with your free time?
SH: Hang out with my friends.  I love movies, talking...love talking, tie-dying’s pretty fun but I’m not very good at it.

CRC: Having been through the ups and downs of your high school cross country career, what piece of advice would you offer to underclassmen looking to improve as runners?
SH: Listen to your body.  I know that can be hard to do sometimes, but it’s a lot better taking a little time off to fix a small problem than having to take a lot of time off because you create a big problem.

Thanks to Sarah for the great interview. Good luck at districts!

Coaches/Parents - Do you have any standout athletes that go the extra mile?  Spotlight them at the Columbus Running Company!  During the season, we will periodically showcase athletes in our high school section within the store and on this webpage.  Nominations can be taken through our Contact Us page, through info@columbusrunning.com, or by simply giving us a call.  We will then briefly interview you and the selected athlete. 

Nominations do not have to be the fastest athletes - nominate those who demonstrate qualities such as a strong work ethic or leadership skills or have something unique that sets them apart.  

The sport of running is a great one.  We'd like to help glamorize it in the eyes of the youth who are the future of running.  These athletes deserve recognition!

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