By Barbara Bell
Junior distance runner Alex Ford is finishing up a
remarkable season in spring track. Alex joined the girls’ cross country team at
the beginning of her freshman year, after deciding to get involved at the high
school. She quickly fell in love with the sport and running itself, and decided
to do both winter and spring track that year as well. Now she is a three-season
“trackie,” and all her hard work is starting to pay off. Last spring, in her
sophomore year, Alex finally saw her times start to drop. She ran a 5:48 mile
and a 12:48 two-mile, putting her comfortably into the post season for FCIACs,
and in the range for States.
This year, she came back stronger than ever. Alex ran many
varsity races in cross country in the fall, although she barely missed FCIACs.
In winter track, she came back to qualify for FCIACs again. And this spring,
Alex has seen her fastest times so far. She dropped 7 seconds from her mile
time (5:41) and finally qualified for states with a 12:06 two mile. Dropping
almost three and a half minutes in as many years is quite an accomplishment,
and Alex is surely proud.
“In eighth grade, I ran a 9:18 mile in gym class. I was so
happy that I drew it in my planner, and put little hearts around it. I never
thought that I would ever be able to break 6:00, so it’s a nice reminder of how
far I’ve come,” said Alex.
Alex also completed the Celebrate Life Half Marathon in
March of this year, with fellow junior Grace Evanich. Both of them ran the 13.1
race in memory of their friend, Andy Pena, who died of a rare heart disease
called myocarditis in 2011.
Photo caption: Alex rounds a turn during an indoor 3200 m race
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