Cross country events at Pasadena High – More than meets the Eye

-Courtesy photo

By SHEL SEGAL
If you’re a spectator at a cross country event it doesn’t look like much is going on.
But Alex Guardado, a cross country runner at Pasadena High, wants you to know that a lot of training goes into those events.
And he added they’re a lot of fun.
“It’s a different mindset,” said Guardado, a junior. “There’s something about it and it relaxes you. You get out there and you feel relaxed and free when you’re running.”
Guardado said his personal best on the 5K course is 16.05. That’s way down from 17.30 a while earlier.
So, what does he have to do to run under 16 minutes?
“I have to train a lot harder,” he said. “I have to focus on working the hills and I have to focus on keeping my form right.”
The funny thing is Guardado is having this success while being a relative newcomer to the sport.
“I hadn’t run cross country before coming to PHS,” he said. “It was mainly the coaching that I got here. I had a couple problems with my form at first. They helped me a lot on that. They fixed that up for me.”
Those techniques on improving his form have really worked, Guardado said.
“When I started my arms would cross a lot,” he said. “So, they were going side to side. Now, I’m concentrating on them going back to front. It changes the momentum a lot. I also learned to keep my knees up. One of the keys to cross country is to keep your knees high and you stay on your toes. It’s a lot easier to run when you’re on your toes.”
And it’s not all about running, he said.
“They also teach a lot of mental stuff, like how to keep your body from breaking down before the finish line,” Guardado said.
And while running cross country was not his first choice, Guardado said he is glad he is able to do it.
“My dad was a cyclist for the UCLA team,” he said. “At a young age I was into biking. There’s no cycling team at Pasadena High. So, I figured I would go for the next best thing and it turns out I was good at it.”
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. Follow him via Twitter @segallanded.)

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