Hannah Molloy of Pennsbury has had an incredible career thus far under the radar of her more famous teammates. Molloy is a two time top ten cross country state medalist, an NXN qualifier, a US top 10 sub 3000 meter runner, and a state medalist at 3200 meters. Now a senior, Molloy will aim to trail blaze the biggest piece of her legacy with a career year. She updated us on her summer as the opening of the season approaches.
How has your summer training been going? When did you start? How many miles/week? Can you attach a week's worth of training?
My summer training has been going very well! I feel great and am very motivated for my last high school cross country season! I eased back into training mode 2 weeks after the state meet. I ran 30 minutes every other day for a week and then started to build a base.
What meets will you be competing in this season? Which meet are you looking forward to the most and why?
This year we are running at a few new meets and bringing a few back from past years. Cherokee challenge, George School invite, Paul Short and Manhattan Invitational. My favorite has to be Manhattan. It's a huge meet and it's cool because you're not just running against girls from your state but from around the country. The course is really pretty and has lots of challenging hills to get you prepared for Hershey! It's been my favorite invite since I ran the middle school race in 7th grade!
After a huge track season that saw you run some national caliber times, what are your personal expectations for the season?
This past track season was definitely a confidence booster for my upcoming senior xc season. I had a great junior cross country season but I did struggle a bit because I had a huge growth spurt in the spring and that caused some lower leg pain. It set me back a few weeks from summer training. My personal expectations are to definitetly medal at states and redeem myself at Nike cross regionals. I also hope to break my 5k PR from sophomore year (18:04).
You are a key member of the AAA champions. How difficult is it going to be for you and your teammates to defend the team title? What are some of the challenges you and your team will face?
Nothing comes easy we need to work really hard this year. As long as we all stay healthy and injury free we should have a pretty good chance to capture our 5th team title. Last season's trip to NXN Northeast did not go as planned.
How will you and your team try to rectify that and make another trip to Portland?
Staying healthy is key. My coach always tells us to do the "little things" so getting a little bit more sleep, eating healthier, etc. The stuff you really don't think much about are the things that can either make or break you. I'm very determined to make it back this year. I think as a team we all want to redeem ourselves this year which will help motivate us. I'm just hoping for better conditions.
Who do you consider to be your toughest competition this season? What makes them so tough to beat?
Pennsylvania is a tough state when it comes to running. So there's not just one person that comes to mind. The girls that really challenge me in a race are Mady Clahane, Brooke Hutton, Aislin Devlin, and of course my teammates Olivia Sargent and Meri Twomey. They are all tough competitors that work just as hard as I do.
When you are a key member of such a deep squad as your team is, how special is that?
Having such a deep squad is really cool. You won't find this much talent at many other high schools in the country. It's something not to be taken for granted we have truly been blessed. My dad always says iron sharpens iron and you have to run with the best to be the best and we get to do that every practice.
