Episode 44 - Emily Pomainville
"It was a long discovery for me to realize what my priorities were in terms of running. I never strove for being the best or running a fast time, it was all about having fun. Eventually I came to the conclusion that running fast would be fun."
Emily stepped foot on the campus of SUNY Geneseo hoping to blend in. She wanted to be a part of a big team where the spotlight wouldn't be shining on her. She wanted to enjoy her days as a college student while being on the team. That all changed when the pandemic hit. After she went back home, her priorities began to shift toward becoming a better runner. As her dad said, "you're always one summer away from being a completely different athlete."
Emily took her dad's quote into practice and came into this year as a changed runner. She went from wanting to make sure she was having fun each run to believing she could make the National meet. As the season went on, she kept chopping off time and that was fun to her. Eventually she got to the point where she and her coach, Dan Moore, came up with a race plan to break the D3 1500m record. While she had aspirations of doing well in the National Meet 1500/800 double, the plan called for a strike on the record in the prelim. As she got out hard, she knew the plan was working as each split was exactly what her coach planned out.
4:13.69 - a new D3 National Record. A time she couldn't have dreamed of heading into this year. On top of the D3 Record, Emily walks away with the #4 All Time performance in the 800m.
Emily hopes to lower her time again at this weekend's Music City Track Carnival.
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