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10/25/2018 12:00 AMElijah Dillon views the sport of cross country as both a fun hobby and a competition. This fall, the senior is having the time of his life while logging some serious miles for the Guilford boys’ cross country squad.
Elijah started running cross country at Guilford as a freshman and later picked up track during his junior year. Elijah and the cross country team continued their run of success this season by finishing the dual-meet campaign with a record of 7-3. Last week, he earned All-SCC Second Team honors by coming in 19th place at the SCC Championship.
Elijah says that one of his former teammates helped him develop the right mindset to thrive on the course.
“I ran with [2018 graduate] Brennan Kaisen last year, and he helped me stay focused with my running and training,” says Elijah. “He taught me a lot about running, like how professional runners aren’t running for any certain reason. They are doing it because they actually enjoy it.”
When it comes to his pacing on the trails, Elijah consistently puts the petal to the metal throughout the entirety of a race. Elijah wants to give everything that he has in the tank to help Head Coach Jon Rivera’s squad produce a successful showing.
“During any race, I go all out from start to finish,” Elijah says. “Coach Rivera says that I should try to ease into a race, but I want to be giving 100 percent all the way through a race.”
While preparing for a meet, Elijah believes that it’s more about quality than quantity when he’s getting those practice reps. Elijah’s approach to training for long-distance races extends beyond just what happens on the paths.
“With running, it’s about how you run miles, rather than how many. It’s also about how you eat and the core exercises you do,” says Elijah. “In my freshman and sophomore years, I thought it was just about running miles, but cross country is much more than that.”
Even though Elijah isn’t a captain, he’s still playing a pivotal role as a leader for the Indians. It’s important to Elijah that he serves as a top-notch template for Guilford’s younger athletes.
“I try to do my best to be a good role model to the rest of the team,” Elijah says. “I’m not a captain, but I try to be that good role model by giving 100 percent all of the time.”
Coach Rivera says that Elijah has gone through a solid maturation process throughout the past few seasons. Rivera adds that there’s never any doubt about Elijah’s dedication to going the distance for the Indians.
“It has been a pleasure to watch Elijah grow and mature as a person and a teammate. From freshman year to now, you can see all the change. He is much more involved with the team and has really built up his relationships with his teammates,” says Rivera. “He is a leader by example through his hard work. From a training perspective, no one runs more miles than he does. He is very dedicated to running and pushes himself to the brink.”
Elijah and the Indians are currently in the midst of competing in the postseason. Elijah feels that Guilford has a good chance to have a special day at the upcoming Class MM State Championship.
“We are really concentrating on states. We have the confidence we can win there,” says Elijah. “A lot of the guys have been working hard this season and this past summer. We will give it everything we have, and we have a good chance to win it all.”