Salute To Seniors: Caitlin Foley (Mount Dora)

Salute To Seniors: Caitlin Foley (Mount Dora High School)

1. What was your most memorable race/throw/jump/vault/moment? 

My most memorable race would most definitely be cross country state championships  this year. It was my first year ever going to states in both track and cross country so I was  already super excited to run. I had been PRing throughout the season with my first race  coming in at 23 minutes flat for the 5k and finishing regionals at 20:13. So by the time my team  made it to states I was just super pumped to be there in the first place. My dad who also  happens to be the assistant coach for my team pulled me aside before the race and told me if I  broke 20 minutes on this course he would let me run at Eastbay regionals. This was a huge  motivation to me because I had never traveled anywhere out of state let alone North Carolina. I  figured it would be my last cross country race ever so I had nothing to lose. I finished the race  at 19:52 and ended up being recruited by the University of South Florida for this performance. 

2. Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years? 

I have had a lot of competition over the years mostly between my teammates and I. As  a freshman I had my only teammate at the time Fiona Zagorini as my competition. We would  always go back in forth in both cross country and track. After she graduated one of my new  teammates Roxxi Ottum who had recently moved to the area became my main competition  especially in track. It would always come down to the last 100m sprint in the mile to see who  would win. This year though I had the pleasure to be competitive with one of my best friends  Noelle Vu who has always been an amazing runner, towards the end of cross country and at  states I was able to pace off her to PR. Then in track I was finally able to compete and even  beat her sometimes in the mile. I would always joke that I could never easily win any meets my  team went to because I would bring my own competition. No matter what the field was it was  always me and Noelle fighting for top miler on the team. Eventually Hannah Douglas(our  freshman cross country star) joined Noelle and I and we all went 1,2,3,4 in districts with Roxxi  getting 4th. 

3. What was your greatest accomplishment? 

My greatest accomplishment in my running career would definitely either be making it  to states as an individual in track or breaking 20 in the 5k. I would consider these my greatest  accomplishments because before this year I was happy to be running at regionals and  considered my 21:06 to be the peak of my running career. I feel like when I broke 20 it helped  me gain confidence not only in myself but in my potential and that helped to push me once  track season came. 

4. Who would you consider your biggest role model over your four years competing? 

Probably my biggest role model over my years of running would be Lily Henne, she's  not only one of my really good friends but I aspire to be as good of a runner as she is some  day. She taught me that the same workouts don't work for everyone. For instance I became a low mileage runner during season to reduce injury and do most of my mileage in preseason.  She is the sweetest person I have ever met and Im really going to miss seeing her at meets. 

5. What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome? How did you overcome them?

Some of the most difficult obstacles I have had to overcome were the injuries I had over  the years and finding my love for running. In the summer before my senior year I developed  patellar tendonitis which forced me to take almost 2 months off of running and receive physical  therapy for almost as long. At the same time I was in the midst of getting out of a very toxic  long term relationship. Once I was able to get back to running I felt like I had a new  appreciation for the sport, it wasn't a chore I had to get done in my day. I found it was my  stress relief and it gave me time to think. I realized that feeling like I was going to die after my  workouts didn't make me weak it made me strong for pushing through that discomfort.  

6. What will you miss the most? 

I will miss my team the most. They have had such an influence on not only my running  career but they are some of the closest thing I have to family outside of my relatives. I will miss the chocolate milk after speed workouts, the long runs where we have girl talk the entire time,  making fun of Hannah just because, and especially the Olive Garden nights. 

7. What advice would you give to younger athletes? 

I will say would I would have wanted younger Caitlin to know. Sometimes the best workouts are not based on time but on effort, you don't need to compare your times with other  people because in the end its the amount of effort that matters. You cant always expect  yourself to PR in every race, conditions and courses vary its not fair to put that expectation on  yourself. And lastly under no circumstances should you ever decide to do an olive oil tasting with your friend 20 minutes before a speed workout, it does not go well. Trust me. 

8. What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals? 

My coach has had a huge influence on my performance and life goals. Coming into high school the idea of running in college was crazy to me. In my mind to be able to run in college you had to be olympic status, the best of the best. Now I was not a bad runner by any means as a freshman but I never saw myself ever continuing my running career after my senior year.  At the beginning of my senior year I was injured and therefore couldn't build over the summer and basically started training as a raced. If it weren't for my coaches I wouldn't be the athlete  or person I am today. Because their continued support I was recruited to run Division 1 for University of South Florida and I could never be happier. 

9. What are your post-high school or college plans? 

After high school I plan to attend the University of South Florida as a biology major with medical concentration and student athlete. Once I finish my bachelors degree in biology I hope  to apply to medical school and receive my Medical Doctorate. Once I am completely out of school I plan on becoming an Emergency Room physician. 

10. Who would you like to say 'thank you' to? 

I would like to take a moment to thank my family for all the time they have put into my  sport and all the long days spent at track meets and overnight hotel stays for cross country  races. I most want to thank my dad who happens to be a coach on both my track and cross  country teams. Thank you for always being the first one to pick me up after a hard race and the  first one to congratulate me after a good race. Thank you for being the loudest voice on the  infield pushing me to keep going and for making sure I never missed a race. I'm really going to miss you at college but I know you'll still always be there for me.