It's no secret that being a taller, longer-legged athlete is an advantage in cross country. Jacksonville Bolles' Caitlin Collier is a great example. United States Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp is 5-10, Usain Bolt is 6-5. There's no doubt that when jockeying for position out of the gates and coming in for that last kick, having those long strides is a definite advantage. So how do smaller runners adapt?
Naturally, they want to get a bigger lead heading into the last 800 meters, especially that last 50 meters but there's even more to it than that. Tampa Bay area cross country runners junior Cooper LaBrant of Indian Rocks Christian (Largo) and sophomore Josie Garba of Tampa Prep, stick out from the crowd at cross country meets, not because of their size but because of the lack thereof.
"Every time I'm running around, doing my warmups, I'm thinking, 'I have to run against all these people'," LaBrant said. "But then I try to block it out and focus on the race."
Undoubtedly, the starting area has to be the most intimidating to a small runner. LaBrant stands just 4-10 and Garba 4-11.5. Garba wants to make sure you don't forget that 0.5 but running out of those starting gates at those heights must be like running against a professional basketball team. There must be a lot of shoes and knees to contend with. Both Garba and LaBrant face that thicket of trees every time they step onto a cross country course, yet, they have different approaches to how they adapt.
"People on my team say they don't know how I do it but they say I jive in and out between other runners to get to the front," LaBrant said.
LaBrant said that he doesn't like to start races too fast but that he does like to get to the front of the pack. Darting in and out of small spaces, LaBrant uses what is probably his biggest disadvantage as a runner, as an advantage. The pocket-sized LaBrant can squirt into gaps and spaces that larger runners simply can't.
"I like that I have the ability to get in between people sometimes, I have to make the most of what I've got," LaBrant said.
It's been successful. LaBrant, who according to his mother Tami, was a fat baby that she nicknamed "Bowling Ball", came up to the Indian Rocks varsity squad his freshman year. He had a solid sophomore campaign where he took second at regionals and ninth in the Class A state meet. He's kicked off 2016 with a bang, taking sixth at Jim Ryun, third at Seffner, fourth at North Port and winning both the Indian Rocks Open and Kiwanis Tri-City Classic. His 16:25.70 from North Port is his new PR and is third among male runners in Class A in the state this season. LaBrant attributes much of his 2016 success to his summer workout program. The Belleair Beach Causeway Bridge was a big part of those summer workout routines.
"I have an eight-mile route where I have to hit four big hills, two of them are bridges," LaBrant said. "We also did a lot of shorter, speed work."
Garba stares up at the same daunting array of legs and feet when she starts out the race. Garba has a slightly different approach.
"I try to go out fast but I know I usually have more endurance," Garba said. "I don't want to use up my energy so I'll let the group get out and then close on them...it doesn't always work out."
Yet, Garba, when boxed in, will use her size to her advantage.
"At states last season, I got boxed in right before you hit the downhill part but I escaped," Garba said. "I had to lose a little more energy but I got right out of it."
What LaBrant uses to advance through the pack, Garba uses to escape it when she needs to. Garba, no doubt, hit the accelerator down the hill and got in front of a lot of runners she would have otherwise had to run down individually as the pack spread out. She placed 15th in the Class A meet as a freshman. She's opened up the 2016 season with a win at the Indian Rocks Open, a fourth-place finish at Kiwanis Tri-City and a sixth-place finish at the George Jenkins Jamboree. Garba's 19:56.20 from Indian Rocks is sixth-best in Class A this season.
Garba came up running with Hit the Trails Tornadoes Track Club in Lithia, where Class 4A defending state champ Bailey Hertenstein runs. She now trains full time with Tampa Prep coach Jon Noland. Garba has plenty of motivation. Her mother, Nicole, ran competitively in high school and at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. Garba gave up ballet prior to the sixth grade when she discovered running.
"I'm not the most graceful person," Garba said. "I tried club track, fell in love with it and I've done it ever since."
While pint-sized runners like LaBrant and Garba might have to take many more steps to complete the 5,000 meters their taller opponents, the size of their fight measures them up with some one the top runners in the area and state.