Allan Hancock College runner Monica Maldonado surprised herself at the Southern California Community College Cross-Country Championships on Nov. 6.
The freshman became the school’s only individual qualifier for the state cross-country meet, finishing in 51st place with a time of 20.04.
“Every time we had workouts, I simply did my best,” Maldonado said. “I tried to run practice as I would run a race.”
While Maldonado has been running for five years, she took a year off—and didn’t think she was in good enough shape to accomplish the feat. Her coach, Louie Quintana, had a little more faith.
“I knew at the beginning of the season that Monica would qualify because she worked pretty hard during the summer,” he said. “For her to get out of our conference, and then get out of the state conference finals is tough, and she made it pretty easily. I figured she would.”
In preparation for an event in which competitors race for three miles up hills, over concrete, and even through sand, Maldonado took a summer strength-and-flexibility class and worked out extensively with assistant track coach Adrian Zamudio. However, even more important than the physical training, she said, was developing a mental toughness to be a strong long-
distance runner.
“It’s challenging,” Maldonado explained. “There are times when it seems like you want to give up, but what keeps you motivated is the fact that it’s just another mile. You’re eventually going to finish.”
The psychology major will start her track season in January and hopes to someday run for UC Santa Barbara on a scholarship. But first things first: The state meet beckons on Nov. 21 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The morning before, Maldonado will jog the course with her coaches to practice. During the actual race, she’ll be competing against several hundred runners from all over the state.
“Hopefully everything that we’ve done is going to show in the race,” Maldonado said. “I’m just hoping for the best, leaving it all out there, and just finish[ing] well.”
This article appears in Nov 19-26, 2009.
