With the Green Level cross country program turning the corner into postseason, with conference next Wednesday, and less than a month until indoor track tryouts, your Gator athletes are stacking up miles on trail and laps on the track.
However, the cross country and track teams aren’t the only ones running around campus. Many Green Level teachers and staff have become frequent runners on the trails around Green Level, and some have even taken the challenging sport to the next level, competing in marathons and competitive races.
One of those staff members is Green Level’s athletic director, Colin Fegeley, who recently became committed to the sport, and even ran in the Great American community race this past Friday, where he ran a personal best.
“I’d always liked the idea of running, and I’d do it for a couple weeks and then I’d fall off the wagon,” Fegeley said. “I started just trying to stay healthy, and I entered a 10K, which I hit my goal in, and then I kind of really progressed into it, and I fell in love with it.”
To stay consistent with his running, and committed to his goals, Fegeley tracks all of his runs on a spreadsheet. However, Fegeley emphasized the impact the community around him has had on staying motivated towards his goals.
“You really need people around you, like a community to hold you accountable,” Fegeley said.
Fegeley, along with Green Level’s athletic trainer, Taryn Strickland plan to run in the Philadelphia Marathon next month.
Rob Jamieson, another teacher runner at Green Level, also highlighted the importance of community to being held accountable to running.
“That’s the nice thing about any team or even just a club is a commitment to others. It’s easy to be like, ‘oh well, I’m not gonna run today’ if it’s just you. But if you know other people are meeting and you kind of told them you’ll be there, there’s that pressure,” Jamieson said.
On Thursdays, a group of Green Level teachers and staff come together as a community of runners. Along with Fegeley and Jamieson, some teachers that regularly attend include Dathan Maton and Katherine Conniff.
Mike Hill, a science teacher at Green Level, also attends the Thursday afternoon teacher runs, along with his wife Vicky Hill.
“We’re trying to get more teachers active and healthy and involved in stuff but we’re enjoying it. We’re having a good time out there, and we’re out there to just enjoy each other’s company and get a good workout at the same time,” Mr. Hill said.
Mr. Hill has a unique goal to complete races in all 50 U.S. states. So far, he has completed a race in 46 states, with just Arkansas, Kansas, Washington, and a plan to finish up with his 50th state being Hawaii.
Running is a tough sport and hobby, but also a privilege, and many teachers and staff expressed their gratitude for what running has done for them on the trail, and in the classroom.
“There’s an absolute privilege to have this human experience where I can go on a long run through the trails, and go further than most people,” Jamieson said.
If you’re ever on campus or on the trail after a long school day, you might just see a group of teachers running. These teachers, like Fegeley, Jamieson, and Hill, are all dedicated to the goals they have set, and they all have relied on each other and the community here at Green Level to get them there.
