Wake Forest-Rolesville runner covers a lot of ground in a short time
October 20, 1999BY LISA COSTON, N&O; Correspondent
Original Source:
http://www.nchometeam.com/dated/1999/10/20/ccg/stories/WFR-YYY-watk-10201999.html
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When Wake Forest-Rolesville senior Renn Watkins crossed the finish line first, all alone, at the Coca-Cola Cross Country Classic in Cary's Bond Park on Saturday, few people seemed surprised. But a little over a year ago, Watkins' win in the championship division, in a girls course record time of 18:11, would have been impossible. She didn't start running cross country until her junior year, and the summer before that fall, she didn't really train. "It was a good race," Watkins said of her victory. "We went out a little faster than I expected for the first mile, but I'm glad Iheld on. It turned out well." In a relatively short time, Watkins has worked her way up to the level of the state's top prep runners. This season, she is undefeated except for a fourth place at the Wendy's Invitational in Charlotte earlier this month -- where despite being sick she ran a 5K personal best of 18:54 -- and she has destroyed her school's records. "She works hard, and she's really good at listening,"said Dan Lee, in his third year as Wake Forest-Rolesville's coach. "I've got a lot of good athletes who are good listeners, but she takes it to heart more than the others. She does the extra stretches, the extra icing; she takes good care of herself. "She's got that desire to win. That's something that I can't teach, that no coach can teach." The cross country career took root in the spring of Watkins' sophomore year. Since her days at Wake Forest Middle School, she had run track, wanting to be a sprinter but running mainly the half mile. "I wasn't very good," she said. Lee was a volunteer coach for the Cougars, working mainly with the boys distance runners, and Watkins began participating in their workouts. She had been thinking about going out for tennis, but Lee convinced her otherwise. Watkins figured she wouldn't be good at cross country, but thought it would get her in shape for track. She calls her early cross country races "bad," with times topping out near 23 minutes. But each time out, her time dropped. The breakthrough came about midseason at the Greensboro Invitational, where Watkins finished second to Leesville Road standout Caitlin Littlefield. From there, something clicked. Watkins finished third at the 1998 version of the meet she won Saturday and won the Tri-Seven Conference and Eastern Regional titles. "She continued to improve throughout the season," Lee said. "She looked stronger and stronger each week, and we thought she'd do well at states." But at the state meet in November at Charlotte's McAlpine Park, Watkins had what turned out to be her first asthma attack. "I was pretty proud of her that day for finishing," Lee said. She finished 67th. "I was so upset," Watkins said. "It was terrible. Now I have an inhaler." And now, she is more goal-oriented. She tries to see a time improvement every couple of races. Last spring, she did extra speed work and this summer, put in about 35 miles a week. Leg speed is one of the things that separates her from other cross country runners, her coach said. "Last year she was a traditional sit and kick kind of runner," Lee said. "We've tried to work on her speed so she can go out faster. That's what she needs to get ready for the next level. "It's important to lead and not always hang back in the pack. She needs to feel a hard pace early." Wake Forest-Rolesville has one regular season meet left before the Tri-Eight meet on Oct. 27 at Garner. Then come regionals on Nov. 6 and the state meet on Nov. 13.
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