One month ago, Malibu High School (MHS) freshman track runner Claudia Lane was rehabilitating a leg injury. On Saturday, April 16, at the Russell Cup meet, she came back strong to take third place out of 34 runners in the 1,600-meter race.
“I was really nervous for the Russell Cup because I had to qualify for the meet,” Lane said. “After I finished the race third, I was really proud of myself because I hadn’t run in a long time and I was really glad that I was able to do that.”
Lane’s third place finish came on the heels of a second place 1,600-meter finish in her first league meet back in competition on Thursday, April 14. She was only topped by her junior teammate and training partner Abby Blackwood. Lane said that Blackwood, along with the other upperclassmen on the team, have been very supportive of her and her freshmen classmates.
“They always cheer you on and are always there to answer your questions,” she added. “It is a really great team.”
Now that she is able to compete again, Lane said she would most likely experiment with new races — particularly the 800-meter and two-mile distances — in upcoming meets.
Lane is one of the many MHS track runners who also run cross country in the fall. The freshman noted differences in that cross country is more endurance-focused and solely entails five-kilometer races, while track training is more repetitive, yet includes a wider variety of competition distances and speed work.
“Track is more about getting a time, while cross country is more about staying with the pack,” she said. “We run more miles in cross country but there is a good change in scenery. I like them both.”
Sophomore Kate Pietrzyk is no stranger to running both track and cross country as well. She was introduced to the MHS teams by her older sister Caroline, who is currently a cross country standout at Vanderbilt University.
“I thought it would be a good new sport for me to try out, and it would be fun to be on a team with my sister for a year,” she said.
Along with track and cross country, Kate also swims with both the MHS team and the Malibu Seawolves club swim team. She said that although track and swim seasons overlap, her coaches on both teams have been very supportive in helping her juggle practices and competitions.
“It’s a huge joy in my life to go from my high school track practice down to the pool for club swim team practice,” she said. “Though it can get very tiring to have three meets in a row, I think I would get bored if I didn’t do one of them, and I know for a fact that I would miss either so much.”
Kate added that the support from the track team stems not only from the coaches, but from her teammates as well.
“Even the teammates who don’t run your specific event cheer you on the whole way,” she said. “It’s a blast to watch everyone out on the track, giving it all they got and never looking back. Team is a very important word that describes track.”
The MHS track teams still have over a month left in their season, with two league meets and league championships still to be run. Lane said the Sharks are working hard in hope of a league championship so that the whole team can advance to CIF prelims.
“I think we can [qualify for CIF],” she said. “We have a lot of good runners on the team this year.”
Regarding personal goals, Lane is striving to stay injury-free and keep working toward her goal times. She also hopes to land herself a spot in CIF finals, just as she and Blackwood did during cross country season.
“I hope to get down to 5:05 or 5:00 in the 1,600 and build up my mileage again,” she shared. “I also hope to advance to state.”