Hannah Kruse by Trinity Robles

   Not many people can say that they run for fun. But for some people, running is a way to escape reality and create new opportunities to achieve real goals.

Sophomore Hannah Kruse is one of those people. Kruse is on the Fredericksburg High School cross country team, and she practices for hours and hours to get where she is today. 

  Kruse competed all throughout middle school and freshman year, and she continues to do so. In fact, she is well on her way to making varsity. 

“I wouldn’t say I really ‘love’ running, but I realized I was good at it when I started 7th grade”, Kruse said. “It’s way harder than it looks, but I would say when I’m really tired during a race, I just remember all my past accomplishments, and it motivates me.”

Running so much can sometimes come with a toll. For Kruse, it affects her both mentally and physically.

  “Running does affect me physically but especially in my legs and my back,” Kruse said.

Just like every team, the cross country team’s bond is very strong. Kruse tells us how each meet is a new adventure when it comes to the team’s humor.

“My favorite team memory so far has to be all the bus rides,” Kruse said. “We’re either laughing, singing, or binge watching our favorite TV shows together.”

Speaking of connections, Kruse says her biggest supporter is her mom. She comes to every meet to cheer her on and support whether she does well or not. Runners have to stay in shape in order to run their very best. As for Kruse though, her diet is very typical and simple.   

“On meet days, I usually just have  a pb&j before I run and drink lots of water,” Kruse said. “ I think it’s honestly because I have a fast metabolism.”

 Kruse plans on running cross country for the remainder of her high school career. She has a lot of goals that she still wishes to achieve, but she wants to have a lot of fun on this journey as well.

“My main goals are to make varsity and break a six minute mile,” Kruse said. “I am just really looking forward to a lot more cross country memories.”