Hillsboro Emerson Corby has experienced plenty of growth himself since beginning cross country as a seventh grader. His first mile was 12 minutes, 50 seconds. Four years later, he has cut nearly half that time from his mile and lowered his 5K time to 23:33.
“I am also excited to improve my times as I do every year,” Corby said. “I look forward to continuing on this journey of improvement.”
Corby’s best 5K time last season was 24:09. He has already improved that mark this year by 36 seconds.
Much of that progress has come from staying active throughout the year. During the winter, Corby participates in Hillsboro’s Winter Weights program, a weights and conditioning program designed to keep non-winter athletes in shape while building team connections.
He also competes in track, focusing on the 800- and 1,600-meter races. The shorter-distance training helps him maintain his fitness before cross country season.
During the summer, Corby participates in the more intense Summer Weights program and continues running to gradually increase his mileage in preparation for the demands of cross country.
One of Corby’s primary goals entering the season was improving his consistency during runs and hard workouts. He worked on that by training with running partners who maintained consistent paces throughout different types of workouts.
“I wanted to improve on my consistency during runs and hard workouts,” Corby said.
Corby also challenged himself during his harder workouts by running at a faster pace than he expected to maintain during races. The goal was to make his race pace feel more manageable when competition arrived.
That preparation has helped shape Corby’s individual goals for the season. He wants to lower his 5K time to 21:30 and finish among the top six runners on the Hillsboro team.
The team has its sights set even higher.
Hillsboro is a young group, with most of the team consisting of sophomores, along with two juniors and one freshman. Corby believes that experience and continued improvement could give the Trojans a chance to qualify for the state meet.
“As a team we would like to go to state,” Corby said. “I believe if we continue to run hard and do well at regionals this is a possibility for our team.”
The Trojans have also focused on building chemistry away from competition. Team bonding nights have included going out to eat, playing board games and simply spending time together.
Corby believes those activities have helped create an environment where runners encourage one another when things get difficult and celebrate together when things go well.
“I think this is partially why our team has grown so large and why we have started doing really well; people love and enjoy the atmosphere making people want to be at practice and run,” Corby said.
Coach Lowen has also played a significant role in creating that atmosphere, according to Corby. She organizes the team’s Saturday long runs and has provided encouragement throughout his development as a runner.
“She also is one of the main reasons my time has improved so much, she believed in me even if I didn’t,” Corby said.
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