One does not need to be a runner to join Montrose’s Indoor Track team.  More formally addressed as Indoor Track and Conditioning, I knew it was a great opportunity to improve my running abilities, create new connections and friendships, and keep on moving during the long, cold New England winter. Since this is all new, I was not sure what to expect, but only good things have come out of this season.

Most of the time, practice is spent running and doing many forms of stretching. Every practice starts with a lap around Miracle Field and stretches to warm up and ends with more stretches. In between, there is plenty of running. Drills are specifically made for the type of runner doing them — distance or sprinter. We have done mile runs, 50-meter dashes, laps, straights and curves (alternating between running quickly and slowly), and strides (running then stretching). This is a very important part of being on a track team because it keeps runners fit to run in meets and helps them not be sore or get cramps. Time is also spent indoors doing drills with hurdles, weightlifting and core. These help with strengthening muscles to keep them from feeling sore while we run and participate in field events. Even though this sounds uninteresting, everybody on the team makes it feel like a game that nobody wants to end.

Everyone knows the value of a good friend, which is something that indoor track can form. There are roughly forty girls on the team, all brought together by a will to run, and from that common trait many connections can form. After only the first day of practice, knowing almost nobody on the team, I started forming a friendship with another teammate who I had not known before, and it felt very good to be able to deepen my connection with the Montrose community in this way. I have also been able to get to know my friends better through track. There are so many things one can learn about other girls that one cannot learn while in a class with her. Everybody on the team creates the friendly environment to make these friendships and all the fun that happens during practice possible. I have been cheered on by teammates as I finish the final stretches of a run, and that made my day so much better. Both Coach Kerr and Coach Lechner also carry this spirit of community and support throughout the practices, and they care for every single runner and want her to be the best that she can be.

I have grown so much after only my first week in track in both my running and physical skills as well as my friendships that I have made through the team. Being able to run with everyone on the track team has been a true gift that I do not want to have to end with the coming of the spring season. Even though this does have to end, I know I will be able to come back next year, and that makes all the difference.

By Elisabeth Smith ‘28, Staff Writer

28esmith@montroseschool.org