Julia Hergenrother '18 Recruiting Profile

I consider myself a successful student athlete, having achieved an unweighted GPA of 4.1 at a very competitive high school as well as strong performances on the track (800m, 2:15.45). However, there is much more to my story than these numbers themselves portray. If you want to know more about my character and potential to compete successfully at the college level, then please read on!

I took up running at a young age because it allowed my father and I a chance to spend some really fun time together competing in local road races. My competitive spirit took flight as a middle schooler as part of a pretty successful local running club, and I began to picture myself in high school wearing a uniform and pushing through the last stretch of a race.

When freshman year came, I was accepted by members of an inclusive state championship team that took me under their wings. They wanted me to succeed as much as I wanted it myself. I really valued this, and I flourished in this environment. I improved rapidly, and by outdoor track, I ran the anchor leg in the 4x800m relay in indoor and outdoor New England's and New Balance Nationals. My fastest split was a 2:17.74 at the 2015 outdoor New England Championships. I remember the race like it was yesterday. I loved the idea that as a freshman, my teammates could rely on me to give everything I had to bring the baton home. We weren’t expected to earn All New England medals, but we went home with them!

In May of my sophomore year, I ran a 2:15.45 in the open 800 at the Danbury CT Dream Invite. Even though this was a new PR for me, I knew something was not quite right. I had crossed the 600m mark at 1:38, but I was just not able to kick in the last 200m like I was used to. My parents could see this too, and they took me to see a doctor. I learned a few days after this race that I had Lyme Disease, and that this disease was affecting me so profoundly that my liver was swollen and not functioning properly. I have wondered what I would have been able to achieve in that race if I had actually been running on all cylinders.

I struggled with Lyme for nearly a year, and I essentially missed my entire junior year from a competition perspective. However, I did not miss a practice. I continued to train despite my weakened physical state, and a familiar quote often raced through my head: "When your legs can't run anymore, run with your heart." This quote has never seemed so real to me as it did through my junior year. I trained because I wouldn't give up. I trained because I truly loved the sport, not because of the glory it can get you. I trained for the most pure purpose.

I also attended all of the meets my junior year, primarily to spend time with and support my teammates. It was naturally difficult to watch my teammates race when I could not, but I still wanted the best for all of them. I told my teammates my “secrets” for training and for preparing for and running races. I passed along inspirational quotes and showed them my favorite inspirational video on YouTube called "The Greatness Within.” A man named Zig Ziglar once said, " You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." This is the philosophy I espoused. This may be why my teammate Kasey has told me multiple times that I am the most positive person that she knows. It may also be why I was recently elected by my peers to be a captain of the Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track teams as a senior in 2017-2018.

People that have dealt with Lyme Disease understand that in some ways the treatment can be as debilitating as the disease itself. To attack this disease, I took heavy doses of different antibiotics for nearly a year, and these medicines at these dosages impact the body’s ability to produce energy at the cellular level. Once I finished these antibiotics in late April 2017, I was able to steadily ramp up my training volume and intensity. In a few short weeks, I returned to competitive form and helped my team earn honors as the runner-up in the 4x800m relay at the New England Championships in early June (which by the way, was the second year in a row that we were #2 - maybe 2018 will be our year!). I am really looking forward to what I can do now that I am entering my senior year with the Lyme behind me and fully healthy.

I have a number of goals for my senior year and I am fully dedicated to achieving them. In cross country this fall, I want to lead my team to a 4^th State Open Championship in 7 years. I specialize in middle distance, so for the 1000m, I want to break 2:58, and I would love to break my older sister's school record of 2:54.75. In the 800m, I want to break 2:10. I believe that everyone has greatness within them, and that they are often not even aware of what they can achieve. Through belief, positivity and hard training, I am confident that this year I will achieve what I am looking for.

In college I hope to be a valuable member of a competitive yet cohesive team. I look forward to being a leader that enables unity and comradery within the team. Naturally, I want to set PRs in all the distances I race, but in some ways I see this as secondary to the success of the team. As I have demonstrated in high school, I hope to support my teammates to be the best cross country and track athletes that they can possibly be.

Through the challenges of my junior year, I believe that I have gained a lot of perspective, resiliency, a greatly enhanced love of the sport, and a new-found gratitude for the privilege to run healthy. I believe that these characteristics will be great assets in achieving my full potential as a college track athlete. In fact, I am confident that these characteristics will not only help me reach my potential in college, but will actually raise this potential.