Zach Maher is a senior captain on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 11-10-09
It’s taken me more than a week since the UAA Championship at Case Western (October 31) to post this blog, as I’ve been busy completing assignments and scrambling to get ahead in my schoolwork as our team heads into the hectic championship portion of the cross country season. I’d think this makes me fairly typical of UAA scholar-athletes.
Being a student-athlete in an era where many of the most visible aspects of collegiate athletics are indistinguishable from the pros, it’s important to have a firm understanding of why you compete as an athlete and how your athletic endeavors relate to your academic ones. I believe that UAA student-athletes excel in this regard, and have proven time and again that, as the UAA founding document states, “…academic excellence and athletic excellence are not mutually exclusive.”
This weekend our team will move on to the next level of championship competition, as we compete at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship in Geneseo, NY. As we do so, I’m proud that we have the opportunity to represent not only ourselves and our university, but also the UAA and a philosophy of athletic competition that prizes academic achievement above all else and pursues athletic excellence as it complements academic excellence, rather than compromises it.
Kevin Bonilla is a freshman on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 10-19-09
Respect is something that must be earned; it is never just given to you. All season long, we knew that we had a strong team and were just not getting the respect we deserved. But we didn’t let that deter our training or racing, especially our goal of winning the NCAA Cross Country Championship. This weekend at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble, we proved the doubters wrong and finally earned some respect.
We made the trip to Oberlin, OH, for two reason: to run fast times and to win the race. We knew the fact that the race was called a rumble rang all too true, as we were going against top-ranked teams, including fifth-ranked Allegheny College.
It would take all the brute, speed, and heart that we had to roll out of the rumble victorious. It would also take teamwork. We all knew that we could win the race, but we had to run smart and together in order to do it.
The course may have been covered in mud, but we had the confidence in ourselves and in each other to not let that keep us from going the distance. The synergy present between us, standing on that line, could not be matched by any other team. It was only enhanced by the cheering of the rest of our teammates along the course, encouraging us every step of the way. It didn’t matter if you were running in the race or running to cheer. This win was a group effort, and every athlete played a part in it.
If this race was a rumble, than the coming weeks are sure to be battles as we get closer and closer to the NCAA Championship. We take this win and go back to the drawing board, see how we can improve and get ourselves into top form with the confidence and motivation to keep on digging, keep on pushing, and keep our eyes on the prize as we move into our conference, regional and national meets.
Kevin Bonilla is a freshman on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 10-15-09
Coming from Florida to New York, I knew that I would eventually have to deal with the cold weather. I just never knew that I would have to deal with it so soon.
While there may have been inclinations in the past couple of weeks that the cold weather was on its way, this week it simply slapped me in the face. The depressing part is that I know this is only the beginning and that even colder weather is on the horizon.
As I try to remain strong and not think of the sun, the beach and the 90-degree weather back home, I am consoled by the fact that this week is simply preparing me for the cold awaiting me at the Oberlin Inter-Regional this Saturday in Oberlin, OH.
With two 8K races already under my belt, I am starting to get comfortable with the distance and eager to explore the possibilities of racing on a flat course, just like back home. The only difference will be the sub-50 degree temperatures. Luckily, I have well- experienced upperclassmen on my team who gladly gave this “southern boy” some advice: bring gloves.
With that sound advice fresh in my mind, I will go to the store, buy some gloves and feel confident going into Saturday’s race that the cold weather is not as strong as my drive to succeed. Coming off of a tough race and a strong week of training, I am ready to tackle a course that could not be more opposite than Van Cortlandt Park and I am excited to see what unfolds in our next test of strength, speed, and heart.
Zach Maher is a senior captain on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 10-11-09
Unlike competition in other sports (basketball games or soccer matches, say) a schedule of cross-country races is cumulative. A season of racing is constructed so that each race builds upon those that came before it. In theory, your final race should also be your strongest, while earlier races are treated as stepping-stones to carry you, fit and healthy, to that end. While the goal of each particular race is to run well and, ideally, to win, in earlier races the imperative of reaching the end of the season in better shape than you are now necessarily takes precedence over these more immediate concerns.
Given that the season is still in its initial stage, and taking into account the intensity of our training regimen over the last few weeks, Friday’s race at the Metropolitan Championships was a success. Our team was able to shake off a difficult week of training and run well on the challenging Van Cortlandt Park course, while keeping our end-of-season goals firmly in view.
Most notably, our sophomores and freshmen demonstrated yet again that not only is our team fast up front, but it has a depth that will carry us through next year and those to come. Jack (Fitzhenry), Ryan (Boyd, Andrew (Zitek), and Kevin (Bonilla) all underclassmen, ran under 28 minutes for the five-mile race. That is a significant achievement on a course that is notoriously hilly and ‘slow’.
Next Friday, we’ll leave New York for Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. After this auspicious start in the Bronx, I look forward to getting the chance to travel to the Midwest to race against some of the best teams in the country.
Zach Maher is a senior captain on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 10-7-09
The physical act of running is repetitive, so much so that it can become almost ritualistic. You run for thousands of steps, at first trying to consciously adopt an efficient stride, and then you run for tens of thousands of steps more, with that stride as an unconscious function of your muscle memory. I know many runners with strange tics: parts of their stride (a flick of the wrist, or a hitch in the swing of their arm with each step) that they simply picked up one day. These small motions usually don’t add or detract from their ability, but such is the power of ritual that because these small habits come to be associated with the motion of running they’re often unable to abandon them.
As a team, we’ve been to certain places to compete so often and to such significant results that here in my fourth year going to these places again feels much like going through the motions of a familiar ritual.
Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx is one such place. It was there that, in early November of my sophomore year, seven of my teammates and closest friends took the penultimate step toward the NCAA Championship that our team would earn in St. Paul, MN, a week later. It was there that I ran my first 8k collegiate race.
Going to places like Van Cortlandt has become as familiar as my own stride or the routes that we trace each day on our runs through Manhattan and Brooklyn. Imagining my going there to race for the last time, as I will on Friday, makes me reflective. I’ve been to Van Cortlandt with many teammates and friends over the years, each of who has had a profound impact on myself, both as a runner and as a person.
Repetition isn’t necessarily unproductive. You can run laps on a track going nowhere, but eventually win the race. This year we’ll go to the Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt once more, as we have each fall since I was freshman. But, we’ll do it this year with new teammates and as a first, measured stride toward new heights of success.
Kevin Bonilla is a freshman on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 9-27-09
Racing is an art that needs to be perfected over time. There are so many mental, physical and strategic aspects of running a race that one needs to practice, experiment with, and then find what is right for them. I have spent the past four years in high school doing that until I found out how to successfully run a five-kilometer cross country race. This past Saturday at the Williams College Purple Valley Classic in Williamstown, MA, I was back at square one.
Coming into Saturday’s race, I was excited to be running my first 8k race, but also a little anxious to see how running at the increased distance would feel. I looked to the upperclassman for support and was reassured by their advice. I figured as long as I listened to Coach (Nick) McDonough and tried to race as a pack, I should do just fine. I knew that the past three weeks of training has set me up to race at this distance and I was ready to take on the task in front of me. I also realized that any time I run would be a personal best, so there was no time pressure.
As the gun went off and the race unfolded, I simply stayed calm and tried to run strong and relaxed, and stay with the pack of my teammates. I caught the spirit of competition as we took on fourth-ranked Williams without one of our top runners, Zach Maher. This would be our first test against real competition, and we wanted to see where we stood and possibly make a statement running one man down. With a tight pack running up front, as we individually finished 7th, 9th, and 11th, followed closely by another pack finishing 24th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, and 38th, we proved that we are a force to be reckoned with. We also learned what we need to do to improve. The third-place finish behind UMass-Lowell and Williams is simply another stepping stone as we continue to push ourselves and each other and work as hard as we can to challenge for the national title in two months.
As for my first 8k, all I can say is that it is definitely not 5k. I am glad that I went out there and got one under my belt as I continue to work hard, improve and figure out my own secret formula to racing an 8k. It is not an easy race, but I love the challenge and cannot wait to get another shot at it.
Written 9-14-09
What draws me to running is racing. The adrenaline of being on the starting line, the anticipation building as I wait for the gun to sound. The only thing on my mind is the next 25 minutes of pain and glory I am about to endure.
Before I get to that moment in time, however, I have to earn it. That is what the NYU men’s cross country team is doing right now. The win at the Monmouth Invite was just an indicator as to the type of shape we are in, and to how hard we have to work to get into the best shape of our lives as we embark on our next test at the Williams College Invitational.
Having three weeks in between races allows us to put in the hard work to get in the racing shape that we need to be in to compete at the level we know we can achieve. This includes training at high mileage and putting in the grueling speed workouts to get our legs and bodies moving fast and in true racing shape.
So while the next two weeks of training will not define the rest of the season, it is the building blocks that will get us to accomplish our goals of standing on the podium at Nationals. The work we put in now gives us the strength to race hard and keep up with this rigorous regiment as the long season progresses.
Nothing great was every achieved without hard work, and we are looking to move mountains.
Zach Maher is a senior captain on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
The objective of Saturday’s race (The Monmouth Cross Country Kickoff) was for members of the team, many of whom had not raced since last May, to gauge what level of fitness their summer training has brought them to as we start the cross country season.
The summer months of running can often feel like a slog; 12 weeks of distance runs in the heat, progressively getting longer as the fall nears. In that respect, early/preseason races like the Monmouth Invite provide a welcome opportunity to stretch the legs and provide a respite from yet another day of 10-, 11- or 12-mile runs.
On all fronts, the invitational was a success. The returnees from last year’s NCAA team, as planned, were able to run quickly but in a controlled fashion through the first three miles of the 3.5 mile race, at which point those feeling better than others picked up the tempo for a quick dash to the finish.
Success wasn’t limited to those out front, though, as several of the underclassmen ran to outstanding results despite the strenuous first week of team practice they had just completed. The depth of our team, our ability to place 10 outstanding runners on a starting line rather than simply the scoring five, has always been one of our most valued assets.
Saturday’s result proved that this year will be no different than years past in that regard.
The foundation of a successful cross-country season is a healthy team with a strong ‘base’ of long-distance summer training. This Saturday demonstrated that, as a group, we’ve managed to return to school with both. I consider that our first big victory of the year.
Kevin Bonilla is a freshman on the NYU men's cross country team. Periodically throughout the season, he will share his thoughts in this space.
Written 9/4/09
Many people would not consider cross country to be a team sport, but rather an individual endeavor against time, yourself, and the other competitors. Those people clearly have not met the NYU men’s cross country team.
Coming from a team in high school where I would train and race by myself, I did not know what to expect when I arrived at Coles for the first day of practice. Instantly, I felt the bond between all the “bros” on the team and knew that this was something special.
From a team dinner the first night organized by the upperclassmen to the tradition that is Arthur’s Steakhouse, there was never a moment when I did not instantly feel part of something bigger than myself. Hearing upperclassmen and even alumni give their advice to the freshmen was not only inspiring, but a reality check that we were all here to accomplish a goal together, to work together, and to bring the National Championship back to its rightful home at NYU.
Team dinners and gatherings are one way of bonding. But, the true bonding occurs on the streets of New York City. Never have I run in a pack of 25 teammates, weaving in and out of traffic, the noises of the city becoming our soundtrack, our footsteps keeping the beat. We see New York City different than anyone else and the city responds. We get honked at, with complaints and compliments, as we take over the streets of New York, becoming a vehicle of our own. Whether running on the West Side, down Broadway, through Central Park, down Times Square, or becoming the newest tourist attraction on the Brooklyn Bridge, we do it together as one, as a team.
I know I have only been here for less then a week. But, if this week is just a glimpse into the next four years, then I can see why people call it the best years of their lives.
