by Ashley Paulsen, Sports Director
Running everyday for the last three years, Senior Madeline (Madi) Loff has earned a cross country scholarship and is planning on keeping the pace at California State University of Chico in the Fall of 2021. Currently in her senior season, Loff has run her way to the top of the Varsity Cross Country team, as the second seed for girls. Since her freshman year, Loff has cut 1:59 on her mile pace in the 5,000 meter race since freshman year, according to her AthleticNet profile. She has a personal record time of 18:57.8 on the 5,000 meter, and a 18:18.2 on the 3 mile.
“Madi is a natural leader on the cross country team. The other runners look to her to lead the pack during workouts and she is consistently pushing the team to run faster and work harder. She is a role model to younger girls who look up to her because of her strong sharp wit, fast times and great sense of humor,” Coach Cora Karamitsos said about Loff. This is Karamitsos’ third year coaching at PRHS, and she currently teaches Science Academy 2H.
Being with some of the same girls since she first started her cross country career, Loff dove in on how much of a team this more individual-based sport has created.
“Running in general is such a painful sport that you kind of bond with everyone. I don't know everyone that runs kind of gets it on the same level that like this sucks, and it's difficult. It's just nice to be able to connect with people in that way because, like a lot of the time, even if there's a big gap in talent, there's that mutual understanding that, yeah, this sucks,” Loff said.
RIGHT: Madi Loff and fellow teammates huddle up after Morro Bay race her freshman year
Loff initially got into running around the fifth grade, with her siblings and dad doing it together. She joined the cross country Lewis cross country team as soon as it was available, during her eighth grade year, and has been running ever since.
“My dad used to bring us to the track and we'd run a mile on the track and he would time us, me and my siblings and that was just like, what we would do on a Saturday,” Loff said.
Spending at least ten hours a week running and training, and logging anywhere between 35-50 miles, Loff and the other members of the cross country team have devoted a good portion of their high school lives to the sport, and Loff plans on continuing these habits after college as well.
“[Running] helps with mental health and it keeps you in shape but I don't think I'd run as much as I do now, unless I had the opportunity to go into trail running and be sponsored by Saucony or other running brands like that,” Loff said. She wants to continue running throughout her life for the health benefits of it, but after she attends Chico she has no plans to continue running competitively.
At the moment, she plans on utilizing her education at Chico to major in business marketing with a minor in graphic design.
At the end of the day, or race for that matter, Loff is mostly gonna miss the outside courses and she anticipates missing her teammates after track season ends too.
“I feel like I’m so much more in my element on the cross country course than on the track. I would say I’ll miss my teammates but most of them are doing track and we’re still running together! I think it’ll hit harder when track is over for sure,” Loff said.