When redshirt senior Jake Matthews steps up to the starting line this season, he will have already seen how the race will be played out. He sees how he moves, the pass and the rest of the pack.
“You have to visualize the race. That’s important,” he said.
In a sport determined by seconds, strides and mileage, the men’s cross country team is focusing on the mental aspects this year.
After the graduation of Marco Anzures, Alex Crabill and Marlon Patterson, this year’s runners have dedicated themselves to conditioning their minds to fight through the pain and fatigue their bodies take throughout the season.
“We need to want to hurt,” second-year coach Forest Braden said.
This mantra already seems to be paying dividends.
After coming close to an invite to the NCAA Championships last season, the team enters the year sixth in the West Region and determined to push themselves. Braden’s strength-based philosophy has the team going through longer tempo runs and workouts to become better accustomed to the pain of 10-mile running days and competitive meets.
While previous seasons have been marred by inconsistency, this group has grasped the need for toughness. With the addition of quality recruits, such as Nohe Lema and Dustin Fay, the squad has the depth to complement the experience and leadership of the returning runners.
“We have a solid group of tough guys that really want it. We want to test our limits. There’s the mental aspect of wanting to go through the pain,” sophomore runner Zack Torres said. After closing the 2009 season with a 32:31.92 in the West Regional Championship, Torres went into offseason looking to further improve and develop.
“We’re fired up for this season,” he said. “There are lots of guys who are ready to take the next step.”
Two of those runners are the Knight twins, Dylan and Spencer. As two of the top runners on the squad, the redshirt juniors are prepared to lead with their talent and work ethic.
“They have taken their determination and training to a whole new level. There’s an unbelievable change in Dylan and Spencer,” Braden said.
They are not the only ones who have gone through a change. As the season begins, efforts have been made for a transforming team to take steps toward competing against the perennial powerhouses of Oregon and Stanford.
“Things are a bit different,” Matthews said, referring to the changing dynamic on the team.
Whether it is the new runners contributing to the face of UCLA cross country, greater work ethic or toughness, there is a solid foundation for the team to grow. By finding their niches and understanding the aspects they excel at, these Bruins plan to foster an environment where they can trust one another.
“We have a chance to do something big, as long as we’re willing to go through the pain for one another,” Torres said.
Go through the pain for one another. That’s it.
Matthews, who was part of the team that went to the National Championship in 2007, sees his teammates growing together.
“No one wants to get left behind,” he said. “We feed off each other’s energy.”