Running a successful race takes strength, speed and determination. And that’s exactly the combination that landed sophomore Rekha Schnepf a spot in the 2013 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships last weekend. The race, consisting of 280 female racers, was held on November 23rd at Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana.
Rekha ran an amazing race, placing 189th overall out of the 280 runners. She admits that she’s never run in such a competitive race before, explaining, “People were falling and tripping over each other the whole time. Also the crowd was crazy.” Rekha described running past spectators as “like running through a tunnel of noise.” Despite the overwhelming crowd, she finished the 6K race (about 3.7 miles) in an impressive time of 23:17. That’s about a 6:30 mile pace… wow!
The race was exciting for both Rekha and the rest of the women’s team, which hasn’t sent an individual to compete in the NCAAs for the Tartans since the 2011 season. “Overall the race was pretty fun,” Rekha says, “and it was exciting to just be at nationals.”
Rekha’s success was well-deserved, as she consistently ran well for the Tartans throughout this year’s Cross Country season. She led the team at the University Athletic Association Championships (hosted by CMU), finishing 27th overall, and placed 17th overall at the Home Invitational in October.
The sophomore athlete began her running career in 5th grade, when she started running simply because she was having trouble falling asleep at night. She explains, “I guess I just had too much energy. So my dad suggested I start running so I would be tired at night.” Although she started out running only a half mile or a mile every day, her interest continued to grow thanks to the encouragement of her distance-runner father. Outside of cross country, Rekha loves watching football, reading novels, and watching movies. She is also a member of the Student Advisory Council (SAC) and Engineers Without Borders.
“The hardest thing about running in college is the amount of time it takes” Rekha explains. In addition to cross country, Rekha is a Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering major in Carnegie Institute of Technology. She recognizes the difficulties of being a student athlete, especially at a school as tough as CMU. While practices and meets take up valuable time that could be used for schoolwork, she says that “trying to make sure I’m getting enough sleep means extra time management.”
Through all of the workouts and the extra hours of coursework, Rekha must be doing something right. Her stellar performance at the National Championships marked the end of the women’s Cross Country season for this year, but Rekha and the team will be gearing up for an exciting Indoor Track season once Winter Break is over. We’ll all be waiting eagerly to see what this running superstar will accomplish next.
Photo sources: http://athletics.cmu.edu/sport…