On Nov. 5, the Hinsdale Central Girls Cross Country team went to state. However, there were so many injuries on the team that only Jill Hardies, junior, was able to compete.

Despite having only one runner, the meet went well for Central. Hardies earned 5th place (16:59 for 3 miles) and the team was very supportive.

“We unfortunately didn’t qualify as a team, but all of my teammates were incredibly supportive and most of them drove all the way down to Peoria to support me,” Hardies said.

To prepare for State, Hardies changed little of her normal running routine, however the week before, she decreased the amount she ran (“tapered”) to increase her energy for state.

Even though Hardies was able to run well at state, an injury earlier in the season hindered her running earlier in the season.

“The best part of state was probably knowing how much I improved over the course of the season,” Hardies said. “I had a really tough beginning of the season because I had been hurt and my first races back after being injured did not go well. However, I progressed each week and thankfully by state, the only race that really matters, I was able to run pretty well.”

“My future goal for cross country is to stay injury-free, since being injured really hampered my season this year,” she said. “I would also like to run faster every season and improve on my state finishes, and hopefully qualify for a national meet.”