Pushing the limits

By Shane Mettlen

Published: May 11, 2008

RICHMOND — Here it was, a crisp and cool Friday night, under the lights with a stadium full of excited fans watching. This was no football game, just Steven Reynolds and 12 others at center stage for less than two minutes, ready to find out just where they stood as the high school track season hit crunch time.

“Runners to your marks. Set.”

******
Every year, the Southern Track Classic gathers many of the top high school athletes from Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC and other states up and down the East Coast. It’s an elite meet and a spot in each race is by invitation only. Friday, Blacksburg’s Peter Dorrell ran the nation’s 10th best time in the mile (4:14.46) and George Washington-Danville’s David Wilson hit the top 5 in the triple jump, leaping nearly 50 feet.

Reynolds, a Culpeper County High School junior who made an appearance in the Virginia High School League state meet a year ago, went to Richmond’s Sports Backers Stadium with a goal in mind. He wanted to run the 800-meter in 1:55 — more than two seconds faster than his best this season.

“I ran pretty well last week and got down around 1:57,” he said a couple of hours before his race at the Southern Classic. “But it wasn’t my best race so I know I can do better.”

With such a strong field to push the pace that certainly didn’t seem unreasonable.

******
The gun fired and the runners were off, but it wasn’t a great start for Reynolds. The group was tightly packed and he stumbled as the runners worked their way around the first turn. By the time the pack reached the backstretch he had recovered. But any misstep in a race like this requires a lot of energy to make up and there was still 700 meters at a near-sprint pace to go.

These meets are different than most. At a typical Cedar Run District quad, Reynolds would be expected to win, or at least finish no worse than second. He’s probably run in at least two or three events and sprint to the lead and away from the pack early on.

But Friday night it was more than just a race against the clock. He would focus only on the 800, his top event and best shot a winning a medal later this year at states. Beating the field in Richmond was not out of question, but certainly not expected either. This was about going against the best and learning how to run in a top-level meet.

“I told him to come in and race,” CCHS coach Kim Williams said. “If you race well the time will come and if you don’t race well the time won’t come and that held true tonight.”
******
After one lap a lead pack had separated itself from the rest of the field and Reynolds was with the leaders, hanging on to sixth-place. He settled in as the leaders hit the backstretch one more time. With 300 meters to go, Reynolds was just about where he wanted to be.

******

Running a race against top competition requires more strategy. You can’t get boxed in as the runners pack together tightly. Get stuck in an inside lane with no way out and making any kind of move to the front becomes impossible. And with so many legs all matching each other stride for stride, legs are bound to get tangled up, which can be disastrous. Reynolds managed to avoid a fall, but even a little bit of a stutter step can be difficult to recover from in this type of race.

Then there’s the mental challenge, resisting the urge to run someone else’s race. One runner might hit the first lap at breakneck speed. Anyone that tries to go with him, but isn’t capable can burn out quickly. No, in the 800 you have to be smart, run your own race then make your move when the time is right.

******
With less than 300 to go it was time to start his kick, an all-out sprint to the finish line, but it wasn’t happening for Reynolds.

“With about 275 left it was like everything just tightened up,” Reynolds said. “I don’t know why that is. My upper body was relaxed until about 125 to go and then it tightened up.”

The leaders pulled away and Reynolds finished in eighth-place with a time of 1:58.47. Not bad, but not what he and Williams had hoped for.

******
Of course, winning a gold medal or recording a personal best weren’t the only reasons for entering the Southern Classic. The district championships are coming up next week with the regionals and states to follow.

This won’t be the only race like this for Reynolds, but next time he’ll know where he stands. Battlefield senior Eric Hoepker won the race, finishing in 1:53.76, the best time in the state this season. Reynolds will see him again at the district meet and likely again at regionals and states. He knows he can hang with Hoepker if he runs his best.

“Steven’s as strong as any runner out there,” Williams said. “We just got to get him through a couple of these issues and then by the time he gets back to states he’ll be fine.”

Moments after the race, Reynolds already knew what he was going to work on to make sure he didn’t tighten up down the stretch next time.

“Mental toughness, stretching, hydration,” he said. “All those things will help. Stretching is big and I’ve been trying to do that more, but it came up and bit me on the butt today.”

******
Leaving the track in Richmond, Reynolds took a deep breath and soaked it all in. He didn’t meet his goal for the day, but yet he did well enough that his goals for the year seemed quite attainable.

“I certainly didn’t come in first, but I didn’t come in last,” he said. “It shows there’s certainly room for improvement, but it also shows that I’ll be able to make that time and do well from here on out.”

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or