In just over a month, Seth Bywater, a 2019 Cornwall graduate, has enjoyed some success running cross country for SUNY Delhi. He’s been named North Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Week twice and United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week once.
In his Broncos debut, he came in second at the 6-kilometer Vassar Invitational. Bywater followed up that performance with another second place finish in the 8K event at the SUNY Oneonta Airfield Invitational.
“Receiving those honors was definitely a confidence boost, and it makes me excited for what this year has to hold,” said Bywater.
Considering the success Africans have running long-distance races, Bywater’s achievements shouldn’t come as a surprise. The young runner spent the summer in Kenya preparing for the cross country season.
“Kenya has high altitude, which makes breathing harder and pushes your aerobic system more, so it is popular for training,” Bywater said. “I stayed at a training camp which mostly catered to westerners. There were a lot of people coming and going from the camp and it was really cool to get to meet them all. Running at altitude, you really only feel it when you’re trying to run uphill- every hill seems longer and steeper. Back at home, it’s the opposite; I can run up hills without even noticing.”
Bywater began running cross country in eighth grade at his parents’ request to do something outside of school. He admits he didn’t become serious about the sport until high school.
“I enjoy racing and running because you get out of it exactly what you put into it,” he said. “If you consistently put in hard work, you will eventually get faster, and if you surge in a race, others must follow or be left behind.”
Bywater grew to love the sport, but became even fonder of the running community. He and his Delhi teammates are always pushing each other and having a good time.
Having a good time and realizing success on the race course requires hard work, however. Some days demand practicing multiple times a day, based on class schedule. Most of the team practices at 5 p.m. because everyone is done with classes by then. On Mondays, Bywater is finished earlier, so he starts practice at 2 p.m.
Bywater notes the practices differ greatly from those in high school.
Unlike high school, an easy run might be twice as long. Faster workouts might entail repetitions of a set distance with rest between each rep.
“In high school, these reps would be pretty short and thus pretty fast, but in college we focus more on doing longer reps with less rest.”
Practices might include different exercises, which don’t include running, like squats and balance and core exercises.
“It’s also more interactive with Coach Munro. He will give some people a slightly different workout if he thinks it will benefit them more. In high school, everyone would do the same workout every day. I also have never gone on a run alone since I arrived here. In the past many of my runs would be lonely.”
Despite the early season triumphs, Bywater knows he still needs to put in the work to stay competitive. In high school, he got used to being on the fast end of races, but starting over as a freshman, he’s not competing to win.
I have a lot of development to do before I can contend for medals. I’ve had a little trouble the last couple races, and I think it’s because I need to go back to racing like I did in high school. I like to keep my head on and be smart during races, but not to worry about pace too much and focus instead on running through the crowd instead of with it.”
