Most Division I athletes around the country have been competing in their respective sports for years.
On the UCLA women’s cross-country team, for example, every single competitor has had extensive track experience, and many have a comparable amount in cross-country.
Then there’s freshman Claire Markey.
On Sept. 24, Markey was in Falcon Heights, Minnesota at the Roy Griak Invitational, attempting something she had never done in her entire life – run a cross-country race.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing; I was just running,” Markey said.
She came in second out of all UCLA women runners who participated, just milliseconds behind pace leader and sophomore Julia Rizk.
“Should’ve been first,” Markey said.
Growing up in the Boston suburb of Chelmsford, Markey had a passion for basketball; cross-country wasn’t even on her radar.
She consistently made Amateur Athletic Union teams that traveled around the state, and when she wasn’t playing for her basketball team, Markey filled in as the starting goalkeeper for her high school soccer team.
Contrary to those sports, Markey now competes in one without passing or assists – there’s no coach yelling plays along the cross-country trails. There’s little interaction between teammates in the heat of competition besides pushing each other to go faster.
But the team-based skills and mentality she developed in basketball and soccer, coach Forest Braden said, allow her to be very capable and coachable in the more individual sport.
“She’s very driven and industrious,” Braden said.”But (she) has a team sport mentality that sets her apart a little bit and makes her a great runner.”
At the end of junior year of high school, she became disillusioned with her team sports and the athletic lifestyle in general. In basketball, she had passed her goal of 1000 points, ending her junior season with over 1200 career points.
For the first time in her high school career, she tried not being burdened by the constant pressure of sports.
“I got a week in and said ‘I can’t do this. I have to be doing something else,’” Markey said.
That something else turned out to be joining the track team.
“A couple of my friends did track,” Markey said. “And they said it was fun, so I decided to try it out.”
With just the inclination of her friends pushing her, she became one of the best distance runners on the team. In her only season, she achieved school records in the 2-mile and 3,200-meter distance run.
She ran a personal best every time she was on the track, and her high school coach called Braden.
“I got a call from her coach,” Braden said. “And her track times and her academics made her a perfect fit for the cross-country team.”
This summer, Markey was in Chelmsford, working at the local ice cream shop. She got the call from her high school coach to contact Braden.
“The rest of my shift was the longest of my life,” Markey said. “Coach Braden said I had a spot on the (cross-country) team as long as I keep working hard.”
After receiving the news, Markey came to UCLA for the summer session and started to train, running by the gardens and mansions of Brentwood and Bel-Air.
It was during one of these runs that she solidified her love for the Golden State.
“I was running on San Vicente, and a guy stuck his hand out for (a) high-five,” Markey said. “And he said ‘good job’ and it just made my day and (I) remembered it and it stuck with me for the rest of my run.”
She now runs 70 miles every week. Her roommate, freshman sprinter Celera Barnes, can attest to her dedication.
“She’s a really hard worker,” Barnes said. “Whenever I see her, she’s doing her homework or heading out to do her training.”
Now, Markey’s at the top of the UCLA women’s cross-country team. After the Minnesota game when she finished second, she came back three weeks later to lead the team at the Nuttycombe Invitational and finished 25th out of 205 competitors.
In the upcoming Pac-12 Cross-Country Championships, Markey hopes to do well and continue to grow as a runner, but she’s not putting any pressure on herself.
“If you put expectations on yourself,” Markey said. “You can limit yourself.”
And for a runner who’s as new to the sport as Markey, those limits are still unknown.