“There’s just something magnificent about being the endurance machine that humans were created to be. I just love everything about running.”
Royals Athlete of the Week Alec Thibodeaux (Mount Sidney, Va./Fort Defiance) of the men’s cross country team has a rigorous workout schedule and strong support system, and now these factors have gained him the success he has always dreamed of.
In May 2015, Thibodeaux won the 800m run at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Track and Field Championships. Now in cross country season, the junior has taken to new heights and proved himself capable of running against D-I athletes. Yet he is determined on accomplishing more.
“I want to be an Academic All-American and cross country All-American (top 35 at nationals),” he revealed.
Unlike many athletes who have played their sport since they were little, Thibodeaux started running competitively his sophomore year of high school. Now in his sixth season of cross country, he accepts that running is an innate talent he must craft and perfect.
“Nowadays, most of my race paces in high school are now my workout paces in college,” Thibodeaux noted. “Sometimes I am a little bewildered by my improvements this year, but it would be foolish of me to say I don’t know how it happened. I am ecstatic with how my mentality and fitness has progressed, but I’m not where I want to be yet.”
At the CNU Invitational, Thibodeaux finished in third place of the 8k run behind two runners from William and Mary, a respected D-I school. He set a new personal record with a time of 25:28, finishing 19 seconds before the nearest D-III runner, CNU’s Grayson Reid.
Many may wonder what a runner like Thibodeaux thinks as he’s running such a strenuous race.
“The typical things you would think someone running as fast as they can for five miles would be thinking,” he answered. “‘Is it over yet? Where’s the fourth mile at? Why do my feet hurt so badly? Where’s coach?’”
Before taking over as the men’s No. 1 this year, Thibodeaux was the No. 3 runner and had the privilege of training with and running behind former All-Region runners Ryan Gehman and Jacob Landis.
“It was phenomenal,” Thibodeaux said. “The opportunity to have people on your team that are currently training and racing at a place you’re trying to get to is something that can’t be taken for granted; especially those two guys. They were terrific role models for me, showing me what putting in the work actually meant and looked like day in and day out.”
Thibodeaux’s experience of running with Gehman and Landis heightened his discipline. He explained that in order to be a great runner you must work on a daily basis and days off are unacceptable.
“If you want to be a serious runner, or athlete in general, your work ethic cannot be questioned,” he explained. “This summer I put in 12 weeks of continuous work. That includes runs every day and specific lifting workouts two or three times a week. That is the ideal summer for a runner as it takes 24 weeks to fully develop. Right now, I am in week 21 of training so over half of my season was completed in the summer. If runners do not put in work during the summer, they cannot expect to fulfill their full potential or be in racing shape until the last couple of weeks of the season. A lot of runners that don’t get enough training in during the summer can also struggle tremendously with nagging injuries throughout the year.”
Teammates who are “willed to win” like Thibodeaux have made his experience at EMU even greater; he acknowledged that without them the season would not be as fulfilling. In the spring Thibodeaux and his teammate Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) coach a Harrisonburg area youth track club. Last year they coached nine middle school girls twice a week and they’re hoping to expand and develop their program further this year.
Thibodeaux’s advice to other athletes is very simple: if you’re consistent and hardworking you’ll gain the success you want. One, two or three weeks of training will not excel your game; it has to be a daily effort.
“The biggest piece of advice I can give other runners is that no one workout will make you great, but a lot of good workouts over time can make you great,” Thibodeaux explained. “As for athletes in other sports, it’s the same concept. One or two weeks of fantastic training and effort does not make you a great athlete. It has to be day in and day out. I’ve only taken one day completely off from training since August 1. It’s all about consistency.”