Ethan Coleman: Five Things I Can't Live Without On Race Day

Photo Credit: Ethan Coleman's Instagram


"Before that night I had never even broken nine minutes in the 3,200. That night I ran 8:49.57. Since then, I've worn my pink pig socks at every racing opportunity. Track or cross country, it doesn't matter ... I race with the fleetness of the pink pig socks." 


All runners have routines on race day. 

Whether it's a certain kind of breakfast, a properly timed hydration -- or bathroom -- break, or even something more broad, like a spiritual promise you make with yourself beforehand, these practices often become connective tissue toward a successful race. 

Last week, we asked Olympia (WA) High School senior Ethan Coleman to write down 'Five Things He Couldn't Live Without On Race Day.'

Below, the Notre Dame commit expands on those rituals. 

If you'd like to be featured in this new series in the weeks to come, email Cory Mull at cory.mull@flosports.tv. 


    Physical Balance

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    Every runner knows there's more to running a good race than just being fast. My coach, Jesse Stevick, encourages getting two good night's sleep before a race. This falls in line with his other coaching philosophy: Anyone can plank for 30 more seconds, or anyone can run fast on the last rep of the workout, but it takes real mettle to make the penultimate rep the fastest.

    Getting eight-plus hours of sleep two nights before a race takes superior commitment and prioritization. Beyond just sleep, I appreciate the importance of nutrition, copious amounts of water, and above all, social and emotional wellbeing going into each race. The most important part of being a dedicated athlete is first being a healthy person.


    Faith

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    Faith can mean any number of things. For me, in the context of race day, it means having confidence in my training, ability and trusting the plan my coaches who love and care about me have created. While some runners may have trouble trusting their high school coaches to give them the right training to improve, for me, having faith in my training is easy.

    This is partially because I know Jesse and his assistant coach Rich Fraizer are experienced marathon runners who live a life grounded in both running and spiritual faith. On race day, I can relax and focus on the process of racing, knowing I have the best support system an athlete could ask for. 


    Team Chant

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    Olympia's team chant is simple, and we do it before every race. It's hard to explain the camaraderie we feel as a result of this small ritual, but it's as if we're reassuring each other before heading into battle.

    We spell out our team name five times getting progressively louder each time, and choose one runner to count us off at the end. O-l-y, o-l-y-m-p-i-a, O-L-Y, O-L-Y-M-P-I-A, etc. BEARS ON THREE! ONE, TWO, THREE, BEARS!!! Nothing I do in preparation for race day is truly ritualistic, but this is about as close as it gets.


    Pizza Friday

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    Every day since I was in first grade, my family has eaten pizza for dinner every Friday night. And, I mean EVERY Friday night. Like the only thing we would ever cancel Pizza Friday for is Christmas, and even then it wasn't without resistance.

    My freshman year when I started taking training seriously, there was no reason to stop this carb-filled holiday in the Coleman household. As a matter of fact, it was encouraged. Even when my team stopped at a pizza joint on our way to a travel meet my sophomore year, and everyone else got sick and ran a bad race, I like to think it was my built up pizza-immunity that kept me healthy.

    Pink Pig Socks

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    After every race, Jesse awards someone "Athlete of the Meet" honors. In addition to being the best performing athlete -- or perhaps just the most deserving -- comes a more tangible award: A brand new pair of socks. But these aren't just any socks. These socks are specially made each year as prizes for Jesse's relay-based community race, the road-odend-run (pun very much intended).

    Some years they're designed to look like reindeers, sometimes it's an American flag color palette, or halloween themed for no apparent reason. However, for me, one pattern rises above the rest: A pair of pink pig socks. I used to race in reindeers, but after multiple state championship races over the course of two years, every pair was filled with holes. The day of one of the biggest races of my high school career, with few options remaining, I made a decision: I was going to race in the pink pig socks.

    Before that night I had never even broken nine minutes in the 3,200. That night I ran 8:49.57. Since then, I've worn my pink pig socks at every racing opportunity. Track or cross country, it doesn't matter ... I race with the fleetness of the pink pig socks. 


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    If you'd like to be featured in this new series in the weeks to come, email Cory Mull at cory.mull@flosports.tv.