Junior Will Root is on his way to breaking incredible records for track.
Unlike most athletes, Will hasn’t been running for very long. In fact, he started running his freshman year at John Carroll. He first started by playing soccer at JC, and once winter came, he found his love for running all by just trying to stay in shape for soccer.
Will was inspired by his parents and older sister as they recommended that he start indoor track as the perfect way to stay in shape.
Will commented, “After a few practices and track meets, I fell in love with the competitive nature and dedication the sport had to offer.”
As a freshman in high school, he thought nothing of running track, but after his first year of running, he knew he found his passion. Will’s family always saw the potential of his being a runner, and he finally decided that it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to see what he could really do with it.
Will said, “During indoor track, I started to find it extremely addicting to lower my mile time as much as I could. I started to fall in love with the sport because in order to get better, it was extremely simple: run harder and more. The simplicity and straightforwardness to improve intrigued me, and that’s what made me really want to start running at a competitive level.”
Will’s accomplishments soon became a talking point as his running times started to intrigue those around him when they saw how well he was doing. He slowly started to make his way to the top, and by doing this, he made his way to becoming the top runner in Harford County. Will loves to see all his hard work pay off. Whether it is winning a race or cutting his running time for the mile, he is always looking to improve and exceed his potential.
He keeps the mindset of going into every meet with losing as not being an option for him. The cost that comes with running is always feeling like there is someone watching and constantly feeling the pressure at every meet. He knows if he wants to become a better runner, he needs to push himself to the limits, both mentally and physically, and no matter how much he wants to go home after school, take a nap, or hang out with friends, he knows there is only one way to get better and that’s to push himself.
Will said, “This causes me a ton of anxiety going into my races and overall decreases my mental health and even my physical performance. Another cost is the amount of pain I have to withstand whether it be in a workout or race.”
Will plans for this upcoming year to get faster and beat his own time for the mile. Will continues to set high standards for himself while also keeping an outstanding academic status. He dreams of going D1 for running and hopes that all his hard work comes to reality and pays off in college. He also hopes to leave a lasting legacy at JC on the recorded time for fastest mile time.
Will said, “This year, the goal is to run one mile in four minutes and 19 seconds. This would put me in a great position for my senior year and would grab the attention of some big schools. For college, I am hoping to use my running ability to get into a school I wouldn’t be able to get into only using my academics.”