Making a change from one thing to another can be very challenging for a person. A prime example of this would be in a student-athlete.
Senior cross country runner McKenna Woodruff came into the program as a sprinter. This was not the case as she has emerged to be one of the main stars on the women’s cross country team.
“I was more of a long distance runner in high school. I ran cross country, but then did shorter events like the 400 and 200 in high school track. So, coming into college at first, it was a transition to be fully a sprinter, and not have any distance,” Woodruff said.
She loved having the ability to build up her endurance to further grow her collegiate abilities.
“It was nice to go back to something I was more comfortable with, but building up my endurance has definitely taken time,” she said. “I’ve had about almost three years now of full mileage and endurance training, so that’s been helpful. But it was an adjustment at first going back and forth between the two.”
Even though she has been one of the leaders for the women’s cross country team, she said that changing from sprint to distance made her face a lot of challenges.
“Yes there was. The workouts were quite a bit different. They were a lot longer. I remember the first full workout I did with the distance team, I was in shock of how many reps there were, and how short the rest was,” she said. “But, I’ve adjusted to that over time, and it’s actually something that suits my training style and body a lot better than the sprinting was, so I thoroughly enjoy it now, but it definitely was a transition period at first.”
For Woodruff, she has been competing since a very young age and has always loved the sport of running.
“I started truly running in 7th grade with middle school cross country. It’s been cool to just reflect on my journey as a runner. Just the amount of people that have crossed my path and the amount of connections I’ve made,” she said. “It’s also been cool to look back and see things that I thought were hard as a 7th grader are now just an easy run or easy day for me in college. So, it’s been cool to see that kind of growth within myself as a runner.”
Since she came to Ashland University as a sprinter, Woodruff did not expect to be where she is today now as a distance runner.
“I did not expect to be where I was at all. When I was recruited, there was a little bit of talk of running the 800 in track, but I never expected to be fully running cross country again, or be training full time with the distance team. I’m very thankful for where I am now. I love my teammates, and it’s been great training under Coach (Jacob) Sussman. But that is not at all really where I saw myself when I was first recruited. It started out training here freshman year,” she said.
Woodruff mainly credits head coach Jacob Sussman for growing her into the athlete she is today.
“He’s been there for me through a lot. He really helped me throughout that transition period my sophomore year. He’s just been a source I can go back to when I’m having a bad day or just struggling with my training. He’s always very open and willing to listen to what I have to say, like if I feel like I need an extra rest day or things like that. He’s really great about putting the athlete first and doing what’s best for them.”
As the team gets ready to prepare for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21 in Canton, Woodruff has big goals not only for herself, but the team as a whole.
“One of our big team goals this year is to place in the top 5. We have a pretty young team, but we’ve made quite a bit of strides this cross country season. So, we’re really excited to compete against all the conference teams in one big atmosphere together. I’m also excited to get the opportunity to race again, race a 6K, and try to improve my marks from last year,” she said.
