Mallory Liggett talks about summer training, the Hilton Head team and post season plans.
Name: Mallory Liggett
Personal bests:
1600: 5:19
800: 2:26
3200: 11:24
5K: 18:37
Academic interest: My favorite subjects in school are probably math and social studies. I'm not sure what I could like to study after high school though.
How did you get involved in the sport and why?
I got involved in the sport after the sixth grade. I had played soccer all my life and I remember liking the sprinting aspect of it. I never dreaded doing suicides and laps around the field like you hear most soccer girls complaining about haha so I decided that I might want to do track. I went to the first cross country meeting before summer and talked to Coach (Max) Mayo for the first time ever. I remember him telling me if you are able to run fast enough you can run and compete with all the older girls and that became my first goal, to make varsity.
Do you have any family members involved in the sport? Please explain.
Neither of my parents were runners but both of my cousins were runners up in Pennsylvania during high school. Only one of those cousins still runs in college now.
Do you have any post season cross country meets planned?
I plan on running at Foot Locker South Regional the weekend after Thanksgiving in North Carolina to end my season.
Do you remember your first race? Please explain.
During my first season I was injured for about a little over month so I missed about six races and when I was able to race I ran a small race on the island with one other girl. My time was around 23:45 I think. I didn't care about my time too much I was just excited that I finished!
How did summer training go?
Summer training went well. I think at first we all needed a little push getting back into the swing of longer distanced workouts compared to track workouts. With all of our team really pushing each other I think that helped get all of us into the right condition.
What do you enjoy about the team and being on the course with them daily?
My team is the best. I couldn't ask for a better team. We all love each other to death and listen to each others problems. It's kinda like a sisterhood haha and even though we can laugh and talk about how our days went on the warm ups or cool downs we all get down to business on the workouts. We all kinda know how to pace our selves off each other and we all encourage each other to get better as a whole.
What helps you stay focused during practices and races?
When I run workouts I actually like running alone as opposed to with a group. In doing that I find that I can push myself better. I also find that I yell at myself in my head a lot during races and workouts. I try to stay relaxed as much as possible.
How do you balance academics, athletics and other responsibilities?
Obviously balancing all of it gets hard at times but I always put my family and academics first. Whether that means making up a workout because I have a big project that I need to do or I'm going out of town with my family. There's time for everything if you make time so I just try to manage my time as best as possible so I still have time to do everything I love.
What challenges or injuries have you encountered in the sport? How did you stay motivated during this time?
I haven't been injured very recently (knock on wood) but I have had tendinitis and shin splints before. I try to not look at injuries as a bad thing. I try to look at it like a stepping stone. I accept the fact that I'm injured and I ask myself well, why am I injured? What could I have done differently? How can I not get injured again and improve? I would use it as a time to regroup and think about what goals I have and how I could achieve them.
Favorite training shoe and racing shoe:
I like Saucony as my training shoe brand. I've raced in Nike and Saucony spikes but I don't notice too much of a difference. I just like to make sure my racing shoe is pretty light weight.
