Caleb Akins Prepares for Homeschool CC State Championships

It definitely helped boost my confidence and help get me into a racing mentality.  I haven't had many good races this season, and only one race in the last few weeks, so it was good to get a good fast race in.  I feel like races like this help me to remember how to push myself to the max and actually race instead of just running.

How did the race unfold at Riverside? 

Starlight was definitely an interesting race for me.  I decided not to go out too fast, so I was probably about halfway through the pack of runners after one lap.  From there I just started trying to pass people.  I moved up to 20th place by the time I exited the track and I just kept passing from there.  I eventually got to my former teammate Robert Saddler from Nation Ford, and I just tried to stay in front of him, and I think he tried to stay with me.  By the time I exited the track for the last time, I was in second and planning on just staying there and trying to out-kick the guy in first.  That didn't happen though because he swung wide to stay on the gravel because he was in spikes.  I stayed tight to run on the rubber stuff and accidentally passed him.  I then decided to surge a little bit to secure my lead instead of trying to stay with him.  By the time I got back to the track it was just me and Robert, and my only goal was to wear him down because he has a strong kick.  I was able to do that and ended up being able to pull off the win.

Did you enjoy running under the lights? 

Yes, I love it.  There is something about running in the dark that makes everything feel faster.  Racing in the dark gives you an adrenaline boost and brings an unmatched experience to the whole event.

How did you adapt from most meets run in the morning? 

I never really gave it too much thought to be completely honest.  I guess I just tried to hydrate well and be somewhat active but not do anything crazy before the race.

How did you get into running cross country?

I started back in seventh grade. I told my mom I wanted to do it, but then I remembered that I didn't really like running.  It was too late to back out though. She made me do it my first year, declared that I liked it, and signed me up again the next season.  Eventually I did start liking it, and by my freshmen year I was taking cross country pretty seriously.

What goals do you have for the rest of your senior cross country season?

I want to PR again and do well at the state meet, but really I just want to enjoy my last little bit of time with my team.

What's your preferred race strategy? How do you adapt if it changes?

I think that I race best when I run my pace and don't worry too much about what other people are doing for the first part of the race.  After that I can start trying to work my way up and pass people.  The main thing is I just try to avoid starting too quickly.

What kind of mileage are you running now?

It's really not very high at the moment.  I've started to taper right now for state, but before that I was in the 40-45 range.  I would like to be doing a lot more miles, but I was injured at the start of the season so right now I'm just focusing on just doing what I can without getting hurt.

What has been your biggest challenge as a runner? Please explain. How do you look at this challenge?

The thing I struggle with the most is definitely injury.  It has been several years since I went a whole season without getting hurt somehow.  I think I have figured out a few reasons why though and I hope to avoid injury in the future. 

What's it like for you running against other runners from public schools being homeschooled? 
Running against public schools as a homeschooler is interesting because it has definitely changed a lot over the years at least from my perspective. When I first started running a lot of the other teams saw us as not as good or not a real team, but we got faster over the years, and I think now we are viewed as real competition by a lot of the public schools. 

Do you see homeschool cross country teams growing? Please explain.
I could definitely see them growing in the future.  Cross country as a sport, at least in this area, is growing at an incredible rate, and homeschooling also seems to be growing.  The Trailblazers have grown every year that I have been on the team.  This year the coaches actually capped the sign ups for the first time, so at the beginning of the season we had 120 runners. With so many people interested, I think it is possible that we may see another team spring up.  I don't know as much about the other homeschool teams in South Carolina, but they seem to be getting bigger and better too.

Do you have a preferred cross country course style, and why?
I'm not really sure what I would say my favorite is.  I enjoy a fast course where I can get a good time, but I think there is also something to be said for a good hard race where you can just focus on racing rather than trying to get a certain time.

Photo by Olivia Brennan

How was summer training?
Summer running did not go as well as it probably would've for me.  This is mostly because running was not my main focus over the summer.  I was serving as a short-term missionary with a Christian sports ministry named Victory Sports.  Because of this, my training was inconsistent and my sleep and nutrition was not good.  I sometimes was forced to just run loops around church parking lots at 5 a.m., which is not the greatest place to run.  I was home on the weekend and I would try to get my long runs in then.  I built pretty consistently to 15 miles, and then I had to cut my 16 mile run short the next week due to extreme exhaustion and fatigue. 

The next week I did a 17 mile run, but ran out of time to stretch and that combined with a few unplanned back to back days of hard running resulted in a partial achilles tear which forced me to take the first half of the season off from running.

What is your motivation for now and the future?
My biggest goal in running and in the rest of my life is to honor God with the gifts he gave me.  I enjoy running and I like to be able to compete.  However, I never want to forget that it is a gift from God and not something to be taken for granted.

What do you want to see happen in the sport in the future, and why?
I think the sport is growing at an incredible rate, and I hope that it continues to do so.  I love watching younger runners get better and enjoy the sport as much as I have.  I also want to see people who aren't directly connected to running take interest in what is going on like you might see in football or baseball.

What encouragement do you have for younger runners?
Have fun.  Running is hard, but there is enjoyment to be found in working hard at something and seeing results.  You will get much faster and feel a lot better if running is something that you enjoy, rather than a job or part of school that you feel forced to do.  That being said, running isn't everything.  Don't let running become your whole life, because if something happens and you get hurt or can't run, your life is gone.  Running works best when it is an enjoyable part of life.  Keep up the good work! Keep improving, you got this!

What other hobbies do you have?
Honestly not many.  Outside of running, I mainly just have school and I work at a small machine shop near me. Other than that, I enjoy spending time with my friends and my girlfriend, but I don't really have a whole ton of time for hobbies.

Do you have postseason cross country meet plans?
I do.  After state I plan to train for a few more weeks, and then taper and run Nike Cross Country Regionals.  I don't expect anything super amazing out of this race, but it seems like a fun way to end my final highschool XC season.

Do you see coaching in your future?
I do.  I'm not really sure what all that means right now, but I definitely hope to coach at some point.  I really enjoy knowing how to train and different training methods.  If you asked any of my teammates a lot of them would tell you that I kind of nerd out about running stats like Vo2 max, lactate threshold, and how to improve different areas of training. 

"I do.  I'm not really sure what all that means right now, but I definitely hope to coach at some point." - Akins on coaching in the future

What would you want to say to your supporters?
Thank you.  As I ran my race at starlight I could hear people that I know, some on my team, some not on my team, cheering for me.  As I entered the track for the final time I remember thinking to myself that the cross Country community is truly amazing.  Sure, rivalries exist, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if it's your best friend or some runner that you've never seen before after a good race, you give them a hug or dap them up, and say great race man.  The thing that makes cross country so unique is that we are all each other's supporters, so thank you to everyone who has supported me.  Keep up the good work.

If there is one thing in the world you could do, what would it be and why?
If I could have the opportunity to do one thing in the world, I think I would like to go see the olympic track races in person.

Anything else we missed?
Not really.  I am just so honored to get this opportunity.  Winning Starlight is not something I ever thought I would be able to do, so running that race was truly a dream come true, and I want to give all of the glory to God because He gave me the ability to run.