Going the distance

By Harold Raker
The Daily Item

May 22, 2008 05:56 am

— A recent trip to Washington, D.C., may have helped prepare Caitlin Cavanaugh for the only thing she hates about competing in the 3,200-meter run in the state championship meet.
Her father, Gene, won tickets in a drawing at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Danville to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the nation's capital, and took Caitlin with him.
"It was cool, but very crowded and congested," the Danville senior track and cross country star said.
Cavanaugh could have been describing the PIAA Class AA 3,200 in which she'll compete Saturday at Shippensburg University for the third consecutive year.
"My least favorite thing about the 3,200 (at states) is the start. After that, you're good," said Cavanaugh, who is seeded sixth for this year's meet after placing seventh as a sophomore and sixth as a junior. "The one thing I do like about the 3,200 is it doesn't matter that much how you start. It's not like an 800 or a 400."
The only thing Cavanaugh enjoys less than fighting with 28 other runners at the start of the 3,200 is running the 800, which Danville coach Jeff Brandt had her run this season to help improve her kick for the 3,200.
Cavanaugh understands why he did it, but she said, "I don't particularly enjoy the 800. I do it anyway just to work on my speed. When I finish the 800, breathing-wise I am fine, but my legs can't go faster. The 3,200 is my favorite."
Cavanaugh also ran a leg of the 3,200 relay.
"I definitely like the relay more than the open 800. Running is so individual, and then being on a relay makes it pretty cool and it's a different aspect of running. You want to push harder for your teammates, and it's fun to do that."
Cavanaugh, daughter of Gene and Cindy Cavanaugh, of Danville, is about to bring down the curtain on a brilliant career, having collected a sixth-place state medal in cross country and two state medals in the 3,200, to go with her district gold in the 3,200 as a junior.
Brandt, who has coached numerous outstanding cross country and track runners over the years, said, "I can't say she is the best distance runner I've ever had, but I can't say that she's not."
He added, "She works as hard as anybody I've ever coached and is as coachable. The main thing that makes her as successful as she is is her discipline and her work ethic, including in the classroom."
It was Brandt who talked the former soccer player into following in the footsteps of her older sister Alyson, and older brother Patrick, as cross country and track runners.
"I (taught) her in eighth grade algebra class and I used to say you're going to come out for track, aren't you?' and she said, Oh, yeah.' I knew I'd get her for track, but I knew she was in soccer and I didn't think I'd get her for cross country," Brandt said.
Neither did Cavanaugh, at least not when she was playing soccer from age 4 until eighth grade.
"I never really thought I'd quit soccer," said Cavanaugh, who also played basketball when she was younger before quitting to focus on indoor track. "It was tough. It took me a while to decide, but once I decided, I felt good with my decision."
Cavanaugh, who will continue to run cross country and track at Bucknell University, said the decision to become a cross country runner as a sophomore was made in part because she was ready to try something new after having played soccer for so many years.
She took a liking to distance running and was disappointed with her performance in the state meet as a sophomore (she collapsed before reaching the finish line). That led to even more intense distance running -- and not just liking, but loving -- to run.
Brandt said, "She's had a tremendously successful career in high school and I think the thing that is most refreshing is she just enjoys to run and train. She enjoys the sport and has a real passion for the sport."
That is what Cavanaugh liked about the sport.
"I liked the fact that in distance running, if you put in a lot of hard work, you will see more results than in any other sport. I am very goal-oriented, so setting goals in distance running, I liked that idea and then, once I started training in the summer for cross country is when I really started getting into it," Cavanaugh said.
She said that when she finally placed at states in track was the first time she got real excited about either sport.
"I accomplished something in a big meet, and it was so awesome at the time," she said.
Cavanaugh likes both track and cross country equally.
"I like the longer distances and I like the hills in cross country. In track, I like that it is a whole different group of people," she said.
Cavanaugh is part of a special group of people right now in the 3,200. Despite an outstanding time (11 minutes, 10.14 seconds) in last Saturday's District 4 meet in Athens, Cavanaugh finished third, behind Lewisburg's outstanding junior duo of Sophia Ziemian (10:56.24) and Kiah Hardcastle (11:05.77). Cavanaugh's time was one of seven from the meet that met the state qualifying standard, earning all of them a berth in Saturday's race.
Cavanaugh knows she has her work cut out for her in Shippensburg. In addition to the Lewisburg runners, she also trails Central Cambria phenom Carly Seymour, the top seed at 10:38.55 and the 2007 state AA cross country champ and 2006 runner-up.
"Carly Seymour is an amazing runner. Sometimes it is a little scary to think about what she's doing during the race, and you can't really do that," she said.
As for the District 4 competition, she said, "It's definitely frustrating, knowing that if I would have run these same times two years ago, I would be in contention for a state first-place medal. Then again, I think if I look at it in a bigger picture, I am actually glad because I'd rather have the stronger competition and maybe have a better time because of it, than win over a weaker field," she said. "I know I'll be a better runner because of it."
She has enjoyed running against Ziemian and Hardcastle and has come to know them well.
"I'm very grateful that I got to run with them the last two years."
Brandt agrees that the strength of the district's distance runners has been both a hindrance and a help to Cavanaugh's career. And he expects big things from her in college.
"She's going to do incredibly well in college in the longer races and in cross country with her endurance. She will transition very well."
At Bucknell, Cavanaugh is looking forward to running longer distance races -- the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in track, and the 6,000 meters in cross country.
"And no more 800," she said with a laugh.

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