Prepared for the cross country season
Cornwall High School senior Karrie Baloga didn’t have much time to rest this summer as she competed in the U-20 World Junior Olympics last month, but the cross country runner believes the experience has helped her prepare for the upcoming season and the goals she hopes to achieve.
“I’m super excited about the season,” said Baloga, who started training three weeks ago, shortly after returning home from Colombia. “Our team has a really good chance of winning the New York State Class B title. For me to be a leader this year is really exciting.”
Baloga’s journey to the Junior Olympics began with a qualifying meet in Eugene, OR. There she ran one of her fastest times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to placing second and securing herself a spot on team USA.
She and her family arrived in Colombia at the end of July in time for her to compete in the opening round of the women’s steeplechase on Aug. 1. She placed sixth in her heat and although she didn’t earn an automatic berth to the finals based on the place she finished, she did earn a spot with her qualifying time. Competing in the second heat, Baloga knew the time she would have to be in order to move onto the finals.
Her strategy entailed running hard for the first five laps in order to separate herself from the other girls in her heat, this way she didn’t have to be bunched up with the other runners heading into the final two-and-a-half laps around the track.
With three days to prepare for the finals, Baloga received daily massages to keep her muscles ready and loose for race day. She rested and drank a lot of water. Although the athletes weren’t allowed to leave the hotel and explore the South American country, she was able to admire Colombia’s beauty from the hotel. The added downtime allowed her to meet with the athletes from other countries.
As race day approached, Baloga said she felt no pressure to succeed as reaching the finals was one of her goals. From there she opted to have fun and live in the moment rather than put pressure on herself. Following the same game plan as she did three days prior, the young runner finished 11th out of 15 runners.
“I was super excited,” Baloga said of her accomplishment. “To be my age and to be running at the world level is something not a lot of people get to experience. I was pretty happy about it and it’s definitely an experience from which I can take away many different things which I’ll be able to use this season and in college.”
This season, Baloga said she wants to break 16:53 which is her personal best in the 5,000-meter run. She’s also looking to improve her times and place on specific courses throughout the year. Competing in States last year she finished third in Class A. It wasn’t a great race, she admits, due to an iron deficiency, but having resolve d any problems, her goal is to take the Class B title and hopefully run the fastest time out of all the classes. She hopes to win Nationals this year, something she’s been working up to since her freshman year. That year she finished ninth and as a junior she placed fourth overall. Baloga also hopes to win the Federation meet again.
“Colombia prepared me to be gutsy and fearless going into my senior year,” Baloga said. “Facing many of the world’s best athletes and competing in the world championship steeple final gives me so much drive and confidence. Getting this opportunity and such an awesome experience is something not a lot of people get to have, so I will continue to cherish and thrive off of it.”
Looking ahead to her first year of college next fall, Baloga has already committed to the University of Colorado where she hopes training at higher altitudes will prepare her for a run at the Olympics one day. She’ll be running cross country, as well as indoor and outdoor track.
What attracted her most to Colorado is the number of professional athletes who attended the university.
