Hanna Strom 9 has an aspiration for running. She participated in cross country during the fall season of the 2019 school year, and she plans on competing in track and field during the spring season. 

She enjoys running, despite its innate hardships. Strom believes that her efforts to maintain her stamina and level of competition fuels have paid off.

“Running can be so brutal, but I enjoy it because I like to be competitive. The feeling of being sore isn’t as bad knowing I ran well and worked hard,” Strom said. “When I know I worked hard and tried my best, and that always helps push me forward to be an even better runner. It teaches me to try my best at everything, even things outside of running.” 

Going into her freshman year on the cross country team this fall, Strom set goals for her season. She took into account the rigor of high school competition and the toughness of the sport itself.

“My goal for cross country this year was to survive it. Cross country is way harder than it originally sounds, but the people on the team genuinely make it so much easier,” Strom said. “We all stayed connected and were all friends with each other.”

Strom enjoys the cross country community that she got the opportunity to be a part of. She attributes this positive environment to the seniors and leaders on the team. 

“The people on the cross country team are very kind and accepting. That’s something I’ve noticed particularly about the LP team. It’s a really hard sport, so everyone on the team tries to help each other out and be supportive,” Strom said. “After a race, most of the varsity boys and girls come congratulate the junior varsity runners, and that community they create is really nice.”

Strom’s most prominent example of this positive community in action is when the team went to the state championships this year. Since it marked the end of the season, it was an emotional experience for many of the teammates.

“My favorite memory of cross country was when our team went to state. When everyone was on the bus ride back we were all so upset because it was the end of our season,” Strom said. “We all cried while we said goodbye, it was very emotional. I made a lot of great memories and friends during the season.”

Similarly to the beginning of the cross country season in the fall, Strom has also set goals for the upcoming track season. Aside from hoping to enjoy the team aspects of the season, she wishes to improve her running times specifically.

“My goals for this track season are to work harder for better running times,” Strom said. “I got a 2:50 for my 800 for my best time, yet my worst time was four minutes for an 800, which was awful. The 800 is my specialty, so this year I would like to get around 2:25.”

Running requires a great amount of athleticism and stamina, so Strom must work hard to maintain her shape. She tries her best to improve at running, but also works to maintain a healthy diet.

“Consuming a lot of protein and staying away from junk food is a big deal for my diet,” Strom said. “Watching your diet is key or else you will get very sick while running.”

Not only does Strom need to be cautious of her diet to better herself, but she also needs to set goals for how to overcome hardships for running in every area. Strom shows many examples of perseverance and hard work through the stress between school and running.

“A hardship for me is balancing school and sports. It is like if you have an important project due but you also have a huge meet the next day. I would say it’s hard to balance out the stress with little rest because I am always busy. If you procrastinate it will definitely affect you in the long run,” Strom said. “When I get home, I work on my homework almost immediately so It is out of the way and then go to practice. I just get the work done.”