"When I was in the sixth grade and she was in eighth grade, we both went out for cross country, not knowing much about it. We've both improved our times by motivating each other," said Darby. "She's a great running buddy!""Normally, Hannah is up ahead of me running, but when we see each other out on the courses, we always say something encouraging to each other," said Darby.
Hannah understands competitiveness will originate when running in the same race as her sister, however she also she feels both of their times will drop. "I do, because no matter how much I love my sister, we're both naturally competitive people," said Hannah. "Not only will we always be good running partners, we're also going to be able to push each other a lot more. I think we're going to see more time drop running together than we would have otherwise."
"Before a race we usually are psyching each other out and complaining, afterwards we hug and congratulate," said Darby. "Cross country isn't that competitive between us, because mostly I just want to see my sister do her best and glorify God."
"We push each other; when one of us is feeling bad, a lot of times the thing that keeps us working hard is the other encouraging (or competing with) us," said Hannah. "I always have someone to run with, which is great. I enjoy running on my own occasionally, but running is such a social thing for me. There's nothing better than going for a long slow run and chatting the entire time with a friend."
"At our school (Mitchell Road Christian Academy), eighth graders are the "top dogs," said MRCA coach Keri Lindamood. "They wait for years to get to that point and then assert their rule for the rest of the year. Darby had a buddy to run with (Elise Cox) and the first day I met them, they handed me schedules of their summer running, both around 150 miles. I was shocked. As a newly converted cross country coach, I had no idea that there were 13-year-olds who might commit that kind of time, with basically no reward other than the self-improvement."
Even though the race lasts around 21 minutes, the two help each other prepare and analyze their race.
"Before a race, we usually talk over how we're feeling and try to work out any nervousness we might have," said Hannah. "We warm up together, make sure each other stretches and drinks water, and might discuss strategy. During the race, I just try to run my own race, if I possibly can. I try not to get dragged into chasing Darby if she's ahead or looking behind me to see if she's there. Not that it never happens, it does sometimes. After a race, we congratulate each other, cool down, and/or talk about what we could do better next time. Whoever finishes first will wait at the finish line and cheer the other to the end."
"At our (MRCA) first race (Eye Opener) Darby ran so hard she nearly fell over at the end," said Lindamood. "She was second halfway through the race and ended somewhere in the top five. That was about as low in the girls' running as she ever finished. She is ALWAYS out front, regardless of the competition.
It's really fun to watch her take off and push herself to be faster, but on top of that, she is one of the most humble athletes I've ever coached."
Lindamood mentioned Darby's drive and determination to excel, "are very unique in a middle school child, and it was made even more special by her desire to support the team. When we'd finish a run in practice, she'd immediately turn around and run it backwards to find whatever teammate who was lagging furthest behind. Our off day was Wednesday afternoon, and several times Darby took the opportunity to run an extra race on that day."
"Her biggest role was certainly to be a leader by example," said Lindamood. "Darby isn't loud or bossy and will never draw attention to herself. She leads by example. Darby will work incredibly hard to push herself until she crosses the finish line, which generally happens to be in front of nearly everyone else. She was a joy to coach. I'm blessed to have worked with her!"
"There can be some mild competition between us, but having a sister there to keep you company at meets and cheer for you is really helpful," said Darby.
Along with encouragement and pushing each other to achieve their best, challenges do arise.
"It can be tough competing with each other," said Hannah. "It's hard to be satisfied sometimes with a perfectly good time in a race if your sister ran faster. Also, we occasionally fight over clean pairs of running socks."
Staying close in practice and guiding her sister, Hannah mentioned, "We are pretty close in practice. A lot of the time I have to stay with Darby anyway because she's lousy with directions."
"I think it (season) will be tougher, because my parents and coach will want me to be up there with her, but Hannah is my best friend and I think this year is going to be really fun," said Darby.
And after the meet concludes and the Woodards are at home the two look ahead with family guidance. "Our dad (Mark) is a math professor, so he does the number crunching (ex. "To run a 21 minute 5k your quarter mile split needs to be...") and our mom (Susan) is an aerobics instructor, so she is always getting us to stretch, lift weights, etc.," said Hannah. "I don't know how many times we've hypothesized about who our team's top seven will be, and how fast we'll have to run to stay on top, and of course speculation about what teams we're going to beat if no one gets injured or burnt out. It's really exciting. There really is an incredible amount of support for our running at home, not only from our parents but from each other."
Eastside cross country, coached by Ed Boehmke, opens the regular season Sept. 5 at Clinton. The Eagles compete at Riverside's East Riverside Park course in a preseason meet on Aug. 28 and the Eye Opener on Sept. 8.
Boehmke is entering his 30th year as a coach.