Sports: Track and Field

Record Setter Gears Up to Go the ‘Distance’

RECORD BOOKS: O’Brien, who set a new Rochester record in the outdoor 800 meters last spring, also holds the record in the indoor 500 meters.

Katie O’Brien ’05 admits that she has issues when it comes to running long distances.

So when Yellowjacket women’s track coach Barbara Hartwig suggested that the 200- and 400-meter specialist think about training to run the 800-meter race, O’Brien was a little skeptical.

“I’ve always been against distance,” says O’Brien, a brain and cognitive sciences major from Buffalo. “That was doubling my distance.”

But, so far, the All-American junior has shown no signs of slowing down when it comes to running a race that not too long ago was considered “middle distance” in track and field.

O’Brien set a University record in the 800-meter open last spring in just her seventh race at that distance as a Yellowjacket. At last spring’s Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) championships, O’Brien ran a then personal best of 2:14.77, breaking the previous record of 2:15.10, set by Josefa (Dippy) Benzoni ’88 in 1987.

The time was good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division III championships, where O’Brien knocked another two seconds off the record, clocking in at 2:12.90.

“Katie has made the fastest gains in an event that I have seen in a long time,” says Hartwig, who originally recruited O’Brien for her abilities as a sprinter in shorter races.

After a few practices, Hartwig was convinced O’Brien was a natural for the 800.

“The first time I saw her run here, I said, ‘Wow, here’s a kid who should move up to 800 meters,’” Hartwig says.

O’Brien, who first tried out for track in high school as a way to stay in shape for softball, says she still thinks of the 800 meters as a sprint—just like the 400 meters except with two laps instead of one.

And that’s how she has been trying to train.

“[Teammates] used to laugh at me because I wore my sprinting spikes at practice,” O’Brien says of the special shoes that sprinters wear to keep the balls of their feet dug into the track.

But when she arrived at the NCAA’s, she realized she was on the right track when she saw the same footwear on the other 800-meter finalists.

“You have to be on your toes the whole way,” O’Brien says. “It’s pretty much all out for two laps.”

Hartwig says it’s not uncommon for sprinters to be a little distance-averse, but many don’t realize how quickly two laps around the track can go.

“If you’re going to be a top-of-the-line runner in this day and age, the 800 really is a sprint,” she says. “It’s just a very long sprint.”

O’Brien, who also holds the indoor record for the 500 meters, required a little coaxing to move up—she first ran longer distances during the indoor season and then joined a distance-medley relay team—but Hartwig says she has the competitive spirit and the mental toughness to do well at whatever she puts her mind to.

O’Brien’s dedication and her success at a national level has been good for her, but has also been motivating for the team, Hartwig says.

Although her finishing time set a personal and school record, O’Brien placed seventh among the nine NCAA finalists, and she has her eye on doing better this year. She also is aiming to earn a gold medal at the New York State championships this spring.

After graduation, O’Brien plans to pursue graduate work in a cognitive science or neuroscience program.

“I knew that track could be a big part of my life at Rochester, but I knew it would be as much as I wanted it to be,” O’Brien says.

Hartwig also has suggested that O’Brien think about running the 1,500 meters and, perhaps, even cross-country, but O’Brien says she’s not yet ready to commit to anything longer than 800 meters.

“I just try not to think about how far I have to go,” she says.