Preseason XC Q&A: Mady Clahane, Cumberland Valley

Mady Clahane will be entering her senior season hoping to reach the two goals that have eluded her otherwise sensational career. The senior has missed out on state championship glory and Foot Locker Finals qualification, but will look to make that right this fall. In the middle of her preparations, Clahane took a few minutes to update us on her progress towards her goals!


How has your summer training been going? When did you start? How many miles/week? My training has been going really well this summer! I started up again July 1st after I took a week and a half off from nationals. It’s weird starting later than I normally do, but the rest was definitely needed after such a long season! My week of training basically consists of a workout with my team on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and on the others days I will do a long run (excluding Saturdays, which are my off days). I currently run about 45 miles per week.

What meets will you be competing in this season? Which meet are you looking forward to the most and why? I will be competing at PTXC 7, the Carlisle Invitational, and Paul Short. I am most excited for Carlisle because that’s where I got my PR sophomore year, and I really want to try and break it before I leave high school! It’s also just a really well run meet. Because Carlisle is so local, I get to compete with a lot of runners that I know from around the area, which is always fun!

You mentioned PTXC 7. What do you enjoy about this meet? How does this meet help with the rest of your season? I like this meet because it’s the first invite that my team and I compete at, and it’s always exciting to race with the new girls and see how well we can do! PTXC definitely prepares me for post season because of the high level of competition from around the state that always attends. It’s too early to tell what will happen by the end of post season, but it’s always a good confidence booster when you and your team do well there.

This season is your final opportunity for state gold in cross country. What changes are you making from last year to give yourself the best chance to win? I think that the only changes I need to make are mental. I am always physically confident in where my training has led up to by the time states rolls around, but if I’m not just as mentally confident, it’s just as bad as being out of shape. Besides that, I think I just need to try and stay healthy through all of post season! (My immune system isn’t the greatest)

What have you learned from the tough end to your junior season? The end to my junior season changed my mentality about running a lot. I realized that you can’t always have good days, and although it’s tough to have your worst days during the most important races, it happens to everyone. And when these bad races do happen, which they will, you can’t let it define you as a runner. If anything, I use this race as motivation in all my other races; it always gives the mentality that I have something to prove. When I’m in the toughest part of a race, it gives me the fuel to keep pushing. With all the hype that surrounds huge meets like States, it’s hard to mentally focus on the reason why you’re there in the first place, which is simply to run the best race that you can. I think that last year’s State race taught me a tough lesson, but I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to get something good out of it.

Who do you consider to be your toughest competition this season? What makes them so tough to beat? My toughest competition this season is definitely going to be Olivia Sargent! She’s a very talented runner, on top of the fact that she always seems very determined and focused. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, though, and although she’s tough to beat, I feel like racing against high levels of competition always improves my running!

Do you plan to enter Foot Locker Northeast for one last run at San Diego? Yes, if everything goes as planned I will be entering Foot Locker Northeast one last time! It’s always a really well run meet, and I gain a lot of experience from racing such talented girls from around the region. Hopefully fourth time’s the charm!