Fahey Fights Through Injury, Puts End To Senior Season

Kelly Fahey didn't envision her senior year playing out the way it has.junior. The Trinity Prep standout had finished fourth at the 1A Cross Country Finals in late November and entered the 2013 outdoor season, primed to improve on a top five finish in the 1600 meters. As cross country season ended Fahey began experiencing stomach pains. She insisted it was something she ate and ignored them. During the transition period to the outdoor season in January and February the pain kept coming back in her abdomen, the senior continued to train.
 
 In the Saints' first meet of the year Fahey won the 1600 meters with a time of 5:31.68 nearly twenty-three seconds slower than her personal best. As the season progressed, ones times ought to get better, but not Fahey's. They got slower. Red flags began to arise that this might be more than a "bug" and that she should get the problem checked out. After having difficulties running the 3200 at the FSU Relays and getting sick after the meet she decided to visiting doctors. She soon found out that she had a cyst on her ovary and that her high school running had come to an abrupt end.
 
"During my spring break, I had a CAT scan which showed a 20cm cyst on my right ovary. Two days later I had full abdominal surgery to remove the cyst. At that time, the cyst had around 1.8 liters of fluid in it. Unfortunately, because of the extent of the surgery, I was not able to run in any meets or districts. It really stinks to end my senior high school track season this way."
 
She ran 5:08 at state last year and had plans of breaking five muntues, but those plans will have to be put on hold. Fortunately for Fahey, the surgery went well and she will have sufficient time to let her body heal for the next chapter of her running career. In the fall of 2013 she will attend Tufts University in Massachusetts where she will track and field and cross country. In the end she says her message to other athletes is simple.

"My message to other athletes would be to listen to your body. There are some things you can't train through."

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