I broke the 1600-meter run school record, previously set back in 1966 by John Herbots, at the Nike Spring Invitational hosted by South Lakes High School on May 4.
The race, better known as “the mile” (actually 9.34 meters short of a mile), is the blue ribbon event of track and field.
Everyone knows what a mile is; they know how fast they can run one. It’s incredible to know that I’ve run a faster mile than any Statesman, ever, now that the 47-year-old record is gone.
My time was 4:20.05. That’s a little less than a tenth of a second faster than the old record of 4:20.14, which may not seem like much; to put it in perspective, I beat John Herbots by about five meters.
I remember seeing the record board my freshman year when I joined cross country. I had no perspective on running, but I had this strange inkling that I wanted that record. I wanted to be all over that board.
It’s really inspiring to have my first outdoor-track record be such a prestigious event with so much history. From starting out as a freshman, I’ve gone on to become a district champion for indoor track twice, in the 1600- and 3200-meter races, and I’m not done yet.
Breaking the record makes me so excited for the rest of the season. I’m more focused and motivated than ever. Someone might think that this is the highest level I can reach. What else can I do, where can I go from here? Pardon the gross cliché, but my response to that would be that this isn’t the end; it’s a beginning. I want to break the 3200-meter record next.
I want my records to stand for another 47 years or more. When Marshall is being renovated next time, I want to see my name still up there, hopefully more than once.