Family is Legend Waring's Biggest Motivation

2019 s.c. tf
John Olson
"Legend is a gifted track athlete who is not scared of hard work.  His races are fun to watch and I look forward to continuing to watch his development as an athlete." - Hugh Knight, Porter Gaud coach.


How would you rate the season so far?
I would rate it a six. I expected to run a lot faster, but I'm glad it is all coming together with the state meet this weekend.

How did you get involved in the sport?
My parents introduced me to track when I was seven and I've been running ever since.

What do you hope to achieve this weekend? Please describe/explain.
My main goal is to help lead our team to the state championship. I also want to win the state championship in the 400m and the 200m and lower my times in both races.

What is your training like this week?
I'm at the end of my training program, so the volume of my workouts have been scaled back. Now, my coaches and I are focusing on the little things that can get me to my goal times this weekend.

What part of the race do you feel is your strongest and most challenging? Please explain.
My strongest part would be my start usually. I always start out well which helps set me up for the rest of my race. The toughest part for me is the last 50-75 meters of the 400m and trying to remember that I have to keep pumping my arms and lifting my legs.

What do you hope to do after the regular season?
This weekend, I'm hoping to qualify for New Balance Nationals again. I qualified last year for the freshman class, but I was unable to run because of a hamstring injury from track season. I'm not too far off from the qualifying time, so I'm hoping that this year I can qualify and run at the meet.

What keeps you motivated?
My family is my biggest motivation. I have a reminder on my phone that says "Do Everything for the Ones You Love" and I keep it there to remind me that I'm doing this for something bigger than myself. My brother, Zai Waring, is also another big motivation for me. He's a freshman and he has gotten a lot faster since we were younger, so our competitions at practice always keep me on me motivated because no one wants their little brother to win.


What will you remember about being on the Porter Gaud team this season?
I will remember breaking the school record in the 400m and how good it felt to be surrounded by my teammates and family after that. My teammates and I always have fun at our practices whether we're making jokes with our coaches or making jokes about each other. There isn't a better group of people that I would want to share the track with than my teammates.

What do you hope to achieve with two more high school seasons?
My goal is to continue to lower the school records and keep our state championship streak going. No one wants to be on the team that lost the streak, so I want to make sure we keep it up. I also want to compete against the top competition and have the fastest time in the country by the end of my senior year.

Do you play other sports? Please explain.
I also play football. I have been playing varsity since my freshman year and football was my first love. I am really looking forward to this next football season, I feel like we have a strong chance to go all the way this year.