Lily Williams: The First Chiles Runner To Make Foot Locker Nationals

Dec 07, 2017

Chiles class of 2012 graduate Lily Williams was the first member of the Timberwolves program to make it to Foot Locker Nationals. Williams, who went onto run at Vanderbilt, was 10th at Foot Locker South nabbing the final spot to San Diego where she finished 35th as a senior. This year, two more Chiles standouts Michael Phillips and Ana Wallace will make the trip out west. We caught up with Williams to talk about her time at the prestigious meet, her time at Chiles, and continuing a rich tradition even today.

What do you remember about your time at Foot Locker Nationals?

I remember feeling really in over my head. It was the first big national meet that I qualified for. I was 10th at FL south, the last one in, and I didn't really consider myself a cross country runner. In contrast, I felt very comfortable at the Dream Mile later that year, with Foot Locker under my belt and a race that was more in my wheelhouse. That all being said, I remember FL as one of the best weekends of my high school career. I felt honored to participate in an event that had such a longstanding legacy. I was excited to represent Chiles and that Coach Gowan was able to attend and see his hard work pay off with an athlete as well. And I got to go to California, which was rad. The FL South team I raced with bonded quickly, and I still keep in touch with some of those girls, even years later as our lives have significantly diverged. In fact, Grace Tinkey and I have both taken up cycling, and now we can talk about that from the standpoint of our running history.

Have you been following this year's Chiles team specifically Michael Phillips & Ana Wallace?

I've been following a little bit, mostly through Instagram and newspaper articles that my dad sends me. It's been awesome to see. Ana broke my XC school record, which I can't say I wasn't a little disgruntled about. But I am so proud of how Chiles has continued and built upon a tradition of cross country success, not only at the state meet, but expanding into national level racing as well - on both the boys and girls side.

What does it say to have two kids from the same program make it to nationals?

You're always going to have powerhouse schools in California and New York and Texas, with huge teams and lots of resources. But to have a boy and girl make it from the same school in North Florida is special. We worked so hard at Chiles. Having two athletes qualify is a testament that the tradition of hard work continues. Making it to FootLocker really takes a lifestyle commitment. This is a lot to ask of a high schooler who is also in school 7 hours a day and doing homework 5 hours each night. You have to sacrifice the life of a normal high schooler, with friends, a job and other normal stuff. But to see these two racing so well, it means the program continues to encourage its runners to pursue a goal and instill the same values that I learned with Chiles Cross Country and have carried with me throughout life.

I know Ana said in her interview that when she was in middle school she looked up to you, Carly (Thomas), and some of those older girls. How does that make you feel knowing that?

When I was a freshman at Chiles, we placed 5 in the top 10 at state. That was unprecedented at the time. From what I know, this years' state meet was even better for Chiles. I see and hear folks comparing my freshman team with this current one, and to know that we may have set the bar for another team to work towards and surpass is really what it's all about. I hope this year's team inspires current middle schoolers to race even better in four or five years, continuing this amazing thing that's going on.

That all being said, I don't think my teammates and I considered ourselves role models at the time. We were just trying to run fast, have fun, and make it through school. We were kids. What I will remember more than anything from my time at Chiles are the friendships I made. Results are cool and all, but it's cooler to me that three of us Chiles teammates are going to be in the wedding of a fourth teammate this spring. People can see results and be inspired by them, but they don't see the intimate moments in workouts, where it's 95 degrees and you run out of water and all you can do to get through it is encourage each other. I want people to remember that about our team more than anything else, and look at those elements of our time at Chiles to inspire other young runners to race not just because you can win, but because you learn so much along the way.

What advice would you have for them about the competition and just the overall experience?

My advice for FootLocker... I don't know Ana or Michael's "process," but I would say two things. 1 - have as much fun as you can and 2 - do what you need to race right. You're not going to have a chance to hang out with the 39 other best runners in the country ever again, at the Hotel del Coronado, with a meal stipend. Ever. (I still have lotion bottles and magnets from that hotel). You're going to race in college, and you're going to have a hundred and one more opportunities to set records and run fast, ones that will actually be important to your running career. FootLocker, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't matter. Make some new friends, hang out with your pro mentors, and enjoy the press, because that is awesome. But 2 - there are a lot of distractions. If you want to run fast, you will want to set some limits for yourself. Don't let other people shame you for wanting to opt out of an activity. Get to the hotel early and pick the bed you want to sleep in before your roommate gets there. Harsh, I know. Get a good warmup in. The course at Balboa park is really hilly and really hard, not like anything you've raced in Florida. If you're there, you might as well kill it. It might be hard to reconcile my two points, but if you've done what I've seen all season, you can do this, no problem.

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