The sweat drips down her face, legs feeling like they’re going to give out, but Peterson continues to pass one runner after another determined to finish the race with the support of her team.
Junior Justine Peterson ran in the State Cross Country Meet on Saturday, November 2nd. Peterson ran a 5K in 19:03.2, which is 3.1 miles at 6:07 pace, achieving her third fastest time. She is the first Lady Maverick runner to advance in the State Cross Country meet since 2017.Peterson started her running journey in 7th grade at Pearson Ranch Middle School and has continued her love for running to this day.
“I started running cross country in middle school where my only motivation was getting out of running hurdles,” said Peterson. “Once I joined cross country in 8th grade, I made a lot of friends and started to get much better which motivated me to run more. I really like running with others and I find that it helps you bond with other people quickly and easily but also [participate in Cross Country] because I really love running.”
Student athletes say cross country requires a lot of time and commitment outside of school, possibly making it difficult to enjoy the sport. However, cross country comes with a “built-in family” to embrace.
“At McNeil, I really enjoy the people who are on the team. Everyone is super supportive and friendly, plus we always do things for each other,” said Peterson. “For example every meet we have a big sister, little sister, where upperclassmen and lowerclassmen swap small gifts. It’s not much but it’s a sweet gesture that strengthens our team. Even in a sport that is seen as an individual sport, just running together is like shared trauma so we’re all really close.”
Cross Country practices are normally held in the mornings before school meaning runners have to get up early every weekday. Lack of sleep or just the point of getting up before the sun can be a hardship to navigate. It’s important to have a routine and a purposeful mindset to prepare for every morning practice.
“I [have] such a strong routine set in place where if I didn’t run my whole day was thrown off, so that definitely encouraged me to [go to] practice,” said Peterson. “Another thing that I try to carry with me throughout my summer practices which helped me is doing everything with intent. It’s something that my coach when I was a freshman would always mention, like for example she would always tell us to do our warm ups with intent and just every rep of the workout has a purpose, so make it work for that purpose.”
Peterson’s preparation for the Cross Country season started back in the summer where she set a strong and healthy route for herself, training her endurance and speed for state.
“The preparation began in the summer where I would run twice a day, six days a week. Really that’s the only thing that prepared me the most,” said Peterson. “I did most of the workouts leading up to state by myself which gave me a lot of time to reflect and prepare so, especially on workouts that were my goal pace, I would try to visualize running on the state course.”
Running can be a lot on the body, and without appropriate training and proper care, risks of injuries and stress fractures can be harmful. Listening to their bodies and taking preventative measures can be a runner’s biggest superpower, as Peterson feels.
“Running has definitely taken a toll on my joints,” said Peterson. “A big thing that I try to prioritize is recovering properly. Over the summer I would stretch and roll out for at least 15 minutes every day. Another thing is sleeping a lot and I really try to prioritize getting a full eight hours of sleep even on school nights.”
“Mentally running has definitely made me more perseverant. In one of these ways I start to think about tasks as races, for example if I’m doing a homework assignment with 16 questions I just think about each question is a 200 meter segment in a 3200 meter race. It’s really strange but it helps me feel more accomplished when I answer a question. Further it’s definitely forced me to become more disciplined in every aspect of my life,” said Peterson. “I couldn’t be more thankful for a healthy season which I know is rare for a lot of runners.”
With all the struggles and time runners have to endure, Peterson’s dedication and perseverance pushes her way to state.Peterson found out she qualified for state during the last leg of the regional 5k race. Although excited about what she complained about, Peterson knew she had to keep pushing and continuing passing runners to guarantee her state position.
“I realized I was fourth near the end and when I looked back during the final stretch of the race to see how far back other people were that was when I first realized that I would qualify for state so obviously I was ecstatic,” said Peterson. “At the end of the race I hung onto the fence near the finish because I could barely walk and even though I was half delusional and sweating buckets I was so happy and really felt like the work I put in over the summer was so worth it.”
Qualifying for the Cross Country State meet is a huge accomplishment, but the pressure can be scary. The Cross Country team joined Peterson during her state journey to cheer her on.
“They made posters for me of some of the silly quotes that I like to say during practice,” said Peterson. “They cheered me on really loud, so loud that I heard them all the time. During the state race, everyone had posters of me running on them which was pretty funny,and a little humbling. All together I’m so grateful to have such a supportive team and it was so sweet of them to coordinate those little things.”
