Learning from the best

Fort Collins High School has been lucky enough to have one of the fastest guys in the nation run for them and represent us well. Ray Bozmans recently ran the fastest time in the nation for both the 100 and 200 meter dash, qualifying him for a spot in the Olympic trials. Running with Ray is an awesome experience and he’s taught the team a lot. Ray works hard on and off the track and pushes everyone to do their best; he gives us the right advice and gives us confidence in ourselves as athletes. I can’t even imagine the kind of pressure he has as an athlete to excel in school and keep running faster than everyone else but he maintains his confidence and keeps proving to everyone that he’s the best. Watching him run inspires everyone on our team to do just as good because the feeling you get after winning and running an amazing time is beyond words. He keeps the team smiling no matter what and he is one person that will never give up. He’s like a brother to most of us on this team and we want nothing more than to see him go far in his track career.

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=264082

New Changes

For most of my track career, I never really imagined doing anything but sprinting and hurdling, mainly running the 100 meter dash and the 100 or 300 meter hurdles. I absolutely love the 300 hurdles; just thinking about the race gives me butterflies. I have a passion for hurdling and I am always looking for improvements. When I started my senior year I was ready to work hard so I could win the 300 hurdles at state but as the season progressed I started to realize that I was becoming good at the 200 too. I hadn’t ran the 200 in over a year and  a half so I didn’t know if I had potential or not. My coach entered me in the 200 at a meet and I was up against some really fast girls from Littleton and Arapahoe. I ended up winning the 200 and my time put me in as 2^nd in state. The only problem with running the 200 and the 300 hurdles is that they are back to back, but surprisingly enough, I keep breaking my personal record even when just running the 300 hurdles. It’s been a good change for me and it shows that I am not only in shape but good enough to run two events back to back and I never would have thought that the 200 would be my event.

Regional Champion

My first Junior Olympic championship was last year in the 400 meter hurdles, and it was a thrill. I came in to the race ranked 5^th and finished 1^st. I was upset with my prelims because I had to run scared (meaning I was in lane 8 and everybody else could chase me) so I used that anger and put it on the track. I ran a 1:03.67 making me top 10 in the nation for high school girls and it felt good to know that all my hard work had paid off. But running the 400 hurdles just flat out sucks, the first 300 meters is fine but once you hit the home stretch; your legs are tired, your arms are numb and you can barely breathe, (it reminds me of the 800.) But it’s also one of my favorite races, if I mess up on a hurdle, it’s not the end of the world and I still have a chance to win whereas in the 100 or 300 hurdles, you have to hit every hurdle with every step or you have less of a chance at getting first.

You have to lose sometimes

I am an extremely competitive person and I will admit that if I lose, I cry or get angry. I get down on myself if I place 2^nd or 3^rd in a race, even if I set a personal record that day. I race to win and winning to me is important. But I also know that I have to lose sometimes to realize that I need to continue to work hard and get better and better. To me, if I win every single race, I wouldn’t push myself as hard as I do and I would always think I’m the best there is. Losing sucks but I know that when I lose I get angry, and most of my fastest and best races have been when I was angry because it makes me want to work harder and harder to come back stronger next time, and win.

Staying healthy

It takes a lot to be a runner and even more to run all year round. I usually get about 2 months off from running, usually August and November and even though it doesn't seem like much time off, it feels like a lifetime. This year we started training early August and worked to improve our endurance and built it up so that once November came we could start lifting like crazy and riding the bike or elliptical to keep from losing it. When December and January hit we started our indoor season and did sprinting workouts to work on our speed and technique, when February/March time came around, we went back to working endurance and stayed with some sprints to prep us for our high school season. It usually takes a lot out of you to train everyday and make sure your body is healthy. During the indoor season I would train with my high school coach from 3-5 and then go to indoor practice with my club coach from 6-9. I get extremely tired and busy during those months and it's important for me to make sure that if my body isn't reacting well, that I need to change something with my workouts. Staying healthy for track has become a priority over the years and for me especially, it has helped me to improve.

My life

Running track in Colorado is an amazing experience. Some of the best girl runners in the nation come from Colorado and running against them have only made me a better athlete. Some people don’t consider track and field a sport because they think that anybody can run in circles but to people who actually play the sport, they know that it is a lot more than running in circles, and it takes dedication and commitment to run faster and be stronger than their competitors. We set goals after every year and we push ourselves to achieve those goals from August to May. The ones who want it the most are the ones who push themselves even in the off season.