Train for greatness
Karns City graduate Becca Pennington turned her freshman year for the Chatham University cross country and track and field teams into something for the record books.
Pennington was the first woman in school cross country history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships after finishing seventh in the 6K race at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship with a time of 22 minutes, 57.3 seconds.
“I was kind of surprised I was the first woman to do it,” Pennington said. “It was a good experience and I hope to do it the next three years as well.”
Division III cross country Nationals took place in Oshkosh, Wisc., in Mid-November, where Pennington placed 118th in the 6K with a time of 22:41 out of a 279 runners.
“It was a different race,” Pennington said. “I had never raced in a group that large before that were that competitive so it was definitely a learning experience for me. And being in Wisconsin, it was very cold.”
At the end of her track and field season, Pennington placed fifth in the 10K at the Midwest Regional, clocking in at 37:47.13.
However, this did not qualify her for Nationals.
More recently, Pennington competed in the Butler Road Race, and was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 31:43 — almost a full minute ahead of the next closest runner.
It is necessary for Pennington to keep a tight training schedule in order for her to compete in these events and finish with the times she is looking for.
“During the season, we usually run all seven days,” Pennington said. “These are typically easy runs and we try to have one to two workouts a week.”
The Presidents' Athletic Conference Runner of the Year says she and the team hit the weight room about once a week, focusing mostly on leg strength and core.Her runs consist of hitting a certain mileage each day during the season, and that mileage goes up and then decreases toward the end of the season.“Our weekly workouts usually consist of a longer run at a faster pace than a normal easy run,” Pennington said.Of course in the offseasons the athletes are able to take some well-deserved time off from running and workouts, but in no way do they stop all together.“After each season we take two weeks off — no running at all,” Pennington said. “And then we slowly get back into it. Right now I've been running five to six days a week and that's pretty typical.”Her runs each day can vary around four miles on a slow day, and seven to eight miles on her long runs.Since her running days at Karns City, Pennington has obviously upped her running game with more miles and harder training exercises.“Definitely more miles,” Pennington said. “I'm more focused on longer workouts than shorter sprint workouts.”Pennington still has three years left at Chatham, and what she accomplished her freshman year has only made her hungry for more.“I obviously want to get better times,” Pennington said. “I also want to place All-American at Nationals for cross country and qualify for Nationals in indoor and outdoor track.”
