It’s safe to say that running is not everyone’s idea of fun, nor is it something a lot of people do voluntarily because they enjoy it. But St. Joseph High School’s freshman cross country runner, Katie Magni, truly enjoys running and competing in races.
“In my opinion, it just feels good to run,” Magni said. “My mom is the one that partly inspired me to try cross country because she runs a lot, which I think is cool.”
Magni is a tri-sport athlete who also competes in soccer and track. She was motivated to pick up a third sport by her sister, she said.
Magni ran her first cross country race in Morro Bay, a 5K where runners have to endure soft sand for part of the race. Of the 195 sophomore and freshman runners in the race, Magni placed 15th overall with a time of 20:45.
Coach Matt Wuchner, a former cross country runner himself, said that of the 300 total high school females that competed, Magni finished 30th.
“It was an impressive finish especially since she has never run cross country before,” Wuchner said.
The newly appointed head coach said that part of what makes Magni so successful is her self-enjoyment and enjoyment of the sport.
“She is eager to run and actually likes to run,” Wuchner said. “She has an element of drive that you don’t see in all kids.”
For the rest of the season, Magni’s goals are fairly simple and straightforward. She said she wants to complete a race under the 20-minute mark and set a few personal records.
Even though Magni loves to run, she said there are some definite challenges to being a cross country runner.
“The most challenging part of cross country is when it hurts but you have to keep going,” she said.
Wuchner said he is excited for Magni to stick with cross country. According to Wuchner, she has a “raw” ability because she is already a fast runner; he said that he wants to work with her this season on making improvements to her form.
“The girl’s got guts,” Wuchner said. “Even in practice, if someone gets ahead of her, guy or girl, she pushes through to get past them; she is very competitive.”
Next race for Magni will be in Ojai, another 3 miles of hills in the likely hot sun. In spite of these conditions, she is still striving to complete the race in less than 20 minutes.
“I practice this by keeping pace,” she said. “I’m excited and nervous to see how I do in this next race.”
