Salute To Seniors: Amber Duncan - Armwood
What was your most memorable race?
When I ran at Footlocker South in North Carolina. The trip was amazing and I met some really good runners and got to experience a very competitive race in such beautiful scenery.
What would you consider your biggest competition?
FSU Relays definitely had a lot of very talented girls and so many were very fast, but running with such talented runners pushed me that much harder.
Out of all of your high school accomplishments which stands out the most?
Running in general is such a hard sport. The physical and especially mental ability a runner must have is hard to obtain. Not only did i have to train very hard, but i mentally had to prepare myself before and during races. Even when your legs are dead in race you have to tell youself to keep going. My accomplishment was being blessed enough to be able to say i will be competing at the college level next year. All my hard work this year has paid off. I've also always congratulated myself for sticking with it. I've always been a one girl team. I've never got to experience training with anyone, So I am just proud to say i never gave up.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
If i could start all over again i would have ran track my freshman and sophomore year.. instead i completely stopped running and played softball so by next cross country season it was like i had to start all over again with my training.. if i had actually taken my freshman and sophomore year seriously and not slacked off i believe i could have been a much better runner today..
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
My most difficult obstacles were of course my injuries. I injured my hamstring about a month before cross country regionals my junior year. I was out for a week and a half and was so upset. I thought i wasnt going to make it to states. I ended up making it to states that year and PR'd at regionals by 40 seconds. Because of my injury it pushed me that much harder to get better and of course running by myself for the past few years hasn't been so easy either. I've never had a training buddy or a motivational teamate.
What will you miss the most?
What i will miss the most is running in high school races and the competitiveness of all the athletes. Coach Biernacki has helped me stick with running. He always told me since freshman year that he knew I was going to be a great runner.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
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Stick with running. It not only gives you a very nice body but also conditions you for other sports. All the experiences and people you meet are amazing. When I first started running I was horrible but now I have a scholarship so stick to it and never give up. Make sure you run over the summer. That's something I never focused on that I wish I had. Your summer training is the most important. Don't think that just because you have the whole summer you can slack off a lot either (like I did). Eat right and drink A LOT. Hydration definitely helped me and made a big difference in my performance. You may think you need just your legs for running but your upper body is just as important! If you dedicate yourself anything is possible. With sacifices comes rewards so be patient running takes time but believe you can do it.
What are your college plans?
I have signed with the University of Tampa and plan to run track and cross country all four years. I plan to major in nursing and become and RN.
Who would you like to say thank you to?
Thank you so much too everyone who has ever inspired me to stick with something because I've lacked a team and I definitely appreciate everyone's efforts to keep me motivated..Thank you Coach Biernacki for always seeing great potential in me and thank you mom and dad for suggesting the sport to me and telling me to "go run" all the time. Thank you to my brother Brandon for running and making a competition between the two of us. "A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can't."
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Want to be featured in our Salute To Seniors series? Drop me a line: TGrasley@milesplit.com and answer the questions above! Congratulations to the class of 2012 on all their hard work and success.