Madison Distance Runners Look to Make an Impact at Districts In 2024

The snow is melting and spring is right around the corner. With spring comes one of the most unique sporting events – Track and Field. Now in track and field, everyone is on the same team but, in reality, each team is split into multiple teams. There are the sprinters, who run short distances, the field events, who jump and throw weights, and the distance runners. The distance team has to run around the track multiple times, and it has a lot more strategy involved and isn’t just about being the quickest person on the field.
Madison senior Kyler Brooks said, “My strategy is to go out fast and confident. I don’t have a good kick, so I try to build an early lead.” Kyler competed well last year by getting 5th in the two-mile and 8th in the mile. He’s projected to qualify for state in both this year.
The distance runners also have the hardest practices. While watching a track practice these are the things you will see. The sprinters will be working on the quick first step out of the blocks. The throwers and jumpers will be working on their form, but the distance runners will be working their butt off. They will be running around the track in full sweat. Some examples of their workouts are 8 by 400 meters at 1600 pace. That means they must run around the track eight times at their 1600 pace. Sprinters and jumpers don’t even run that far for their actual event.
Madison Junior Mckay Manner, who got fifth in districts for the 800 last year as a sophomore, said, “Sometimes we are going to have rough days. But we still got to arrive at practice every day and work hard. Running ain’t meant to be easy – Get over it!”
Their Coach Keysha Stutz had them going through workouts over the summer. They would meet at Porter Park and do their workouts there. This helped not only with their conditioning and speed but also brought the distance team closer together. The chemistry is important because this year the team is looking to qualify for state in the 4×800. They barely missed out on it last year by three seconds. They did lose two seniors from that team, but they believe that they have a shot to get in the top two and qualify for state. So, if you have a free afternoon come check out the Madison Track team and their distance runners.