Hi everyone! As this year’s track season has come to an end and another exciting year comes to a close, the 2013 seniors are heading out of the high school arena. Many XC/Track & Field seniors and I are graduating, and for some getting ready for the collegiate running world. I have been reflecting on my four years of high school running and all those I am grateful for having an impact, flrunners is certainly one of them. I thought it would be a nice idea if I reached out to other seniors to hear their thoughts about flrunners.com by answering the following question..."What has flrunners meant to you as a high school runner?"
The following responses are from some runners throughout the Sunshine State to express a very special thank you to flrunners for everything they have done and do to greatly impact our high school careers.
“Flrunners has been a tremendous asset that not only allows me to keep updated on my competition but, also a tool that has allowed me to follow along with some of the best athletes the state, and nation, has to offer. Flrunners has been instrumental to the success that I've achieved through my high school career. Hopefully that success will continue throughout my collegiate career.” - Cameron Allen, Matanzas HS
“Flrunners and all the coverage they do of our meets made me feel like some kind of professional athlete. The site is what I constantly check before races to strategize and the first site I go to after a race. I can't thank flrunners enough for all they have done for us runners.” - Kaitlyn Campo, Olympia HS
“Flrunners has made me feel part of a little community. Over the years throughout my high school running career, going on the website daily became as normal as checking my Facebook news feed to see what’s going on with my friends. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without the entertaining discussion boards, the good-natured controversy over the weekly rankings, highlights from the weekly races, the new PRs of my competition to motivate me with my training, and the opportunity to get insight and advice from experienced runners all over Florida. I cannot thank the staff enough for their time and effort put into the website and making my high school running career as memorable and exciting as possible.” - Sarah Day, West Shore HS
“Flrunners has been so amazing to all of us athletes. They give us so many opportunities to show our talents and potentials. I would personally like to thank them for working so hard to put together meet coverages including photographs and interviews. They have been so dedicated to the sport and I think we all owe them a big thanks you, so thank you flrunners!” - Danielle Dunn, Providence School
“Flrunners means a lot to me, they have been so great with coverage and giving out recognition and especially Todd asking me to do the blogs for the site was really cool. The flrunners team is really great at what they do and they are a great bunch of people and I no they will keep doing a great job for years to come.” - Austin Droogsma, Gulf Breeze HS
“Flrunners is awesome because it provides interviews, photos, results, and articles all on one site that brings the running community in Florida together. To me, it was cool to watch interviews and read articles on races I had competed in, and see other runner's perspectives. It's also a great way to stalk your competition!” - Kelly Fahey, Trinity Prep
"The work that Todd, Jason, and others put into flrunners is incredible. They are always up to date on the latest meets and running news, and provide quality reports for people to read and share. Flrunners has been an awesome go-to site and I don't think anyone can thank them enough for putting the spotlight on all the awesome athletes around Florida. Thank you flrunners!" - Scarlett Fox, HB Plant HS
“We are so blessed to have such great coverage of our races because of the staff at flrunners. Every interview, picture, article, and update wouldn't be possible if they weren't there to do it so thank you guys so much for everything! You have definitely made my high school running career so much better and I am forever thankful because of it!” - Ashley Heitling, Mount Dora HS
“Flrunners has done so much for me. They have allowed me to experience the sport of running as whole. With all the coverage and support, they really bring the whole community together. I’m so thankful and will always be a frequent visitor of the website.” - Stefanie Kurgatt, Maclay School
“Flrunners meant a great deal to me during my high school running career. It allowed my Coaches and I to come up with race strategies based on a number of factors. I was able to keep up with how the other runners I consistently saw and became friends with were doing throughout their seasons. Flrunners also made being recruited by colleges easier. It had all of my stats organized and allowed Coaches to follow me throughout my season. Overall, flrunners was a great site to look at to plan race strategies, check up on my runner friends, and be recruited by colleges. Thank you to all of the people who make flrunners possible! I think I can speak for us all and say it was a HUGE part of all of our running careers.” - Hannah Loder, Matanzas HS
"Over the past four years, I have enjoyed visiting the flrunners website to hear amazing runners’ stories, to watch interviews, and to see different athlete profiles. As a senior, my flrunners profile was very helpful when college coaches asked to see my times from the past four years since I didn’t write them down. Without this website and its team, I would never have met some runners that inspire me every day!" -Sarah McBeath, Evangelical Christian School
“Flrunners has offered a unique way for athletes to keep track of everything going on in the world of running. Thank you for recording every memorable moment on all of our athletic endeavors through high school. I look forward to looking at the pictures, stats and videos years to come and reminiscing on the journey to collegiate running. Thank you flrunners!" - Natalie Novak, Lakewood Ranch HS
“Flrunners has meant so much to me and the rest of the Florida running community. Without them, it would make creeping on people a lot more creepy. They do an outstanding job at covering meets and filming races, and I just wanted to thank you guys for all that you have done.” - Cole Oliver, Holy Trinity HS
“Flrunners has been a great way for me to stay on the pulse of accomplishments and activities of my running peers. I always refer to it when I have questions and its an easy way of getting informed of what is going on in the states. Loved the pre and post race info, articles, interviews, pictures, and videos!” - Julia Rodriguez, Plant HS
“I want to say first off thank you flrunners for being the best running website for high school runners. Writing for you guys with my blogs took hard work and you guys do that everyday. Any time I wanted to look up stats and find out about meets going around you guys are always right on top of it. You guys have meant a lot to me and I thank you for everything and hope this site lives on for a very long time. Yours truly, Cory Sayyeau represent CBR!” - Cory Sayyeau, Cocoa Beach HS
"Flrunners allowed me to view race times before meets and this contributed to my mental preparation!" - Hannah Schroeder, Sebring HS
“As a high school runner, flrunners has meant a lot to me. They are always there onsite for all the big races and have the latest updates on anything and everything. I'm sure flrunners has played a big role in the lives of Florida's high school runners. Overall, I just want to thank them for all they do!” - Katy G. Solis, Estero HS
“Flrunners is one of a kind- they're informative, entertaining, and personal. My mom and I literally check the website multiple times a day. I don't know how other sports get by without a similar site. Jason Byrne has been wonderful supporting his alma mater- go blue streaks!” - Taylor Tubbs, Sebring HS
“Hey, I just wanted to thank flrunners and all the people who work together to make it such a successful website. I got the opportunity to have a blog during cross country which never would have been possible without flrunners. I know from talking with Todd Grasley how hard everyone works there, and I really appreciate it. They stay up all hours of the night recording times and data, just so we can stalk out competition in the morning! Again the flrunners staff has been amazing and I truly appreciate them.” - Garrett Westlake, P.K. Yonge HS
"I would like to thank flrunner's for everything they have done! They really have transformed me into the runner I am today. I remember the first time I went on the website, and saw Ryan Pickering as the top photo, for breaking a 15 minute 5k. From that day on I knew I wanted to be there in his position as the top photo. After that day on I would go and check all the news and updates for sometimes hours a day. Without flrunner's I don't think I would have had as big as dreams as I do today in the running world." -Adam Krstec, Northport HS
“Flrunners has made a monumental impact on running in Florida. Over these past four years, the website has brought me closer to the rest of the Florida running community. The stats, articles and pictures always provide a highlight for my day and give us runners something to look forward to.” - Kristin Zarrella, Lakewood Ranch HS
“Words cannot describe how greatly flrunners has impacted me these past four years of my high school career. From countless videos, pictures and articles to my profile; which all was a tremendous asset to my college recruitment process. Flrunners always can be counted on for providing the latest and greatest content. They have knitted the talented Florida running world together and made my high school running experience very exciting and one to remember. Everyday there is always something new and interesting to read about, whether its race results, videos, or interviews that keeps us all in the know. They provide great insight on competition near and far. Every piece of content is executed perfectly; clearly showing the time and hard work put into it. Thank you so much flrunners for absolutely everything. Truly blessed and grateful!” - Olivia Ortiz, Lakewood Ranch HS
So we say “Thank you” to flrunners.com for the action filled four years of endless coverage and content. From interviews, race videos, photos, to our running profiles; flrunners is always working hard to keep the Florida running world up to date on the latest news.
“THANK YOU to Jason Byrne, Todd Grasley, Jeff Adams, Ray Romero, Ralph Epifanio, Robert Brown, and everyone else who contributes to flrunners.com.”
Hope everyone has a safe and amazing summer filled with fun training miles!
