During the summer, many people head closer to the sea. The cross-country team however, chose to get an even greater distance away from sea level, spending three weeks in Colorado. The team lived and trained at rigorous high altitudes, challenging themselves individually and as a unit.
North Carolina State U. junior Ryan Hill hopes the height of his team and personal success in competition will reflect the height at which they have prepared themselves. After being named ACC Rookie of the Year and earning All-ACC honors in 2008 and receiving All-ACC, All-NCAA Regional and All-American honors in 2009, Hill’s goal are even higher this year.
“First I think about team goals,” Hill said. “I always want the team to win ACC’s and finish top-10 at Nationals. We want to take that next step. Individually I also want to be in the top-10.”
As the track season and cross-country season bleed into one another, one season prepares athletes for the other, making training and racing a year–round process. With summers of training involving running more than 100 miles per week, workouts and constant competition over the course of 11 months, it is easy to understand the possible fatigue and wear on the athletes.
Coach Rollie Geiger said the key to a consistent, successful season is having a heavy workload, but also knowing one’s body and getting rest.
“Coaches have to hold back athletes sometimes,” said coach Geiger.
Hill’s career accomplishments to this point prove he has the physical skills to compete at a high level
“When Ryan enters a race, he’ll have a chance to win,” Geiger said. “People have to see him as a formidable competitor.”
In addition to the physical mechanics, Ryan also uses his knowledge to help him succeed.
“His racing IQ is off the charts,” Geiger said. “There are no timeouts in cross-country, so you have to figure it out on the run.”
What separates athletes that are just good enough or simply better than everyone else from athletes that are great is an internal motivation, a competitive drive to be better. And Hill has that work ethic. He is especially competitive, making no excuses for anything other than his absolute best, and he maintains high expectations. These characteristics are seen and emulated by his teammates. They see the expectations he holds for himself and they adopt similar expectations and motivations.
His competitive nature is a motivational tool he uses not only for himself, but also for getting the best out of his teammates, and he aims his intensity directly at the opponent.
“A lot of people think that UNC has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, so obviously I want to beat UNC,” Hill said. “Every time we race, I want us to beat them and I don’t want any of them to beat me. They have a lot of hype in the cross-country scene right now and I’d really like to put all that to rest.”