Merda Adams: North Catholic’s Madeline Meeuf has new outlook on running, training after knee injury
Sometimes the impetus for change is pain.
That was the case for North Catholic senior distance runner Madline Meeuf.
On a midseason training run with her teammates last fall, Meeuf took an awkward step that ended her season prematurely. The then-reigning WPIAL Class 2A cross country champion dislocated her knee, tore a ligament and chipped a piece off her femur. The devastating injury required either surgery and a lengthy recovery or months of rehab and the hope she’d be able to run again by the spring.
“Initially I was just trying to stay calm and convince myself that maybe I was overreacting and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” said Meeuf last week, adding her mother was nearby running on her own and was able to rush her to an orthopedic urgent care doctor right away. “They took one look at my x-ray and said (my season) was over.”
Meeuf wasn’t the kind of athlete who naturally gravitated to strength training. But when the alternative was surgery, Meeuf dove in with a physical therapist and later a strength trainer.
During a follow-up appointment a month after the initial injury, she had done so well with her therapy her doctor said if she kept up with the program she could skip surgery. Meeuf said it’s still likely she’ll one day need it because of the type of injury she suffered — she had a similar injury in eighth grade, she said — but for now, she’s healthy and eager to return to the top of the WPIAL.
“I think my goals for this season are the things that I didn’t get to accomplish last year,” which include a second district gold, the school cross country record and a personal best, Meeuf said.
“The main thing is the strength training she’s doing,” Trojanettes head coach Tim Souders said. “She’s really committed to that, which I love to see.
“Before this happened, I don’t think she enjoyed strength training (that much). … But sometimes she says this is a blessing this happened because she fully embraced strength training.”
An injury can send a young athlete in several directions. Frustration, sadness and anger are common emotional reactions. Usually, determination to get healthy and become a better athlete follows after time has passed.
But changing habits isn’t always a guarantee. An injury leading to a better process, better training, is a best-case scenario. And Meeuf has shown she’s capable of that next-level approach.
“I honestly didn’t see strength training as an important part of my training prior to injury,” she said. “However, after getting hurt and being told it was the only way to prevent injuring myself further I realized how important it was.”
She’s also learned more about her emotional and mental strength.
She finds peace in drawing landscapes and fashion pieces. She journals before big races, a tip from her dad that helps her relax and enjoy running.
Meeuf also learned why she loves to run. It’s not just about winning now — although that’s a positive. Running, to her, is about the community and finding happiness. She’s never loved the sport “more than when I couldn’t do it,” she said.
Like all growth, it’s not always linear, she said. Meeuf said she struggled when she returned to running in the spring during the track and field season to not compare herself to peers she had beaten the year before her injury who were now passing her.
“I would say this whole process definitely changed my outlook on running,” Meeuf said.
The turning point of her recovery came in the spring at the Butler Track and Field Invitational, when she ran four seconds off her PR with a 5:15.42 to finish 10th in the 1,600-meter distance race; she ran 11:16.27 in the 3,200 and finished 13th.
Meuff could find more joy in running this season alongside her teammates. Whereas in 2023, she was the Trojanettes’ top runner, this year the roster is so deep, Souders isn’t sure where Meeuf will place race to race.
“(Sydney Dunn) has the potential to be our top runner this year, Madeline could be our top runner … any one of (our) girls could be our top runner,” Souders said.
Prior to the preseason, Souders said he expects North Catholic — which runs in Saturday’s Red, White and Blue Classic in White Oak Park, Allegheny County — to be a WPIAL Class 2A and possibly PIAA title contender. Five of his runners were named to the Butler Eagle preseason watch list.
Meeuf — who is still considering if she’ll run in college and wants to be an anesthesiologist after graduating — is one of them once again.
“Coach has been saying for a while now he wants to get on that state podium,” and there’s no better year than this one, she said.
