PennTrackXC is excited to welcome one of our guest bloggers for his fall: Patrick Anderson of Mount Lebanon!
Anderson is the reigning PIAA Class AAA state champion in cross country. Last fall as a junior, Anderson ran to the win on the hills of Hershey. He went on to place sixth at Foot Locker Northeast to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals. In San Diego at nationals, Anderson placed 29th in the country. This past spring, Anderson took fourth in PIAA Class AAA in the 1,600 meters, running a PR of 4:13.47
He's back for what will be a busy senior season. He'll once again be among the ones to beat in Pennsylvania. We're thrilled to have Patrick writing journal entries for us this season, and we hope you enjoy his insight!
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Hello Everyone!
My name is Patrick Anderson, and I'm a rising senior at Mt. Lebanon High School in the WPIAL.
When asked to write journals for PennTrack this season, I was very excited about the
opportunity. I thought it would be something cool to do for my last high school cross country
season and hopefully gain the attention of young, eager runners.
I just finished up my last regular week of summer practice, and starting next week, we will begin
our tiring two weeks of "two-a-day" practices. I've had a great summer so far and have been
able to run in a lot of cool places. In the beginning of July, I went to Saranac Village, a Young
Life camp in the Adirondacks, and had a great week. Besides being with great people and
hanging out on the lake, I was able to find some amazing running trails in the state park.
After a few weeks back at home, I left for a running camp in Boulder, Colorado. This was my
second year there, and I had an awesome week. I made lots of friends and was able to talk with
many current college runners about my future and what running in college is really like. Besides
that, I ran on some of the best trails in the country every day and was never without a view.
Running in the Rockies is definitely an upgrade from the Mt. Lebanon sidewalks.
After camp was done, I headed over to Whitefish, Montana, for a vacation with my extended
family. I got to hike in Glacier National Park for a week and found even better places to run!
From there I went to Canada for a few days and ran on some beautiful farm roads in the middle
of nowhere. Unfortunately after that it was back to the reality of repeats on our high school track,
but I'd say summer training went well.
I'm excited to start racing with my team this season, and I'm looking forward to a big year. It's
bittersweet to be starting my last season, but high school running has treated me well so far and
I'm ready for one last ride.
