Results matching effort for Howell’s Lambert

Rebel harrier turning in impressive times

BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer

Lindsey Lambert is a new runner. The Howell High School senior fully admits that despite her overall success, she didn’t really take running seriously. Now that she has, she’s threatening to become one of the state’s very best.

“My freshman year it [running] was something I hadn’t done in middle school and decided to do it,” she said. “I was the best on the team.”

With such success right from the start, Lambert began to think that running was a lot easier than it appeared. She didn’t really work as hard at it as she could.

“It caught up to me my sophomore and junior year,” she noted.

Seeing her running stagnating, a light finally went on for Lambert last winter. If she was going to get better, she had to become dedicated.

“It finally clicked,” she noted. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run in college, but now I do.”

That made her push herself to new levels of training. Last winter in to spring, Lambert became the first girl to join the school’s 500- mile club (500 miles in 13 weeks). She began to see the results with some quick times on the track. But, the real impact is being seen now, in cross-country running.

“I kept my mileage up,” she said of her most productive summer build-up. Her favorite training haunts while building up her mileage were the Manasquan River Reservoir (Howell’s home course), the Spring Lake boardwalk and the trails inside Allaire State Park.

The early season results have been a surprise even to Lambert. She shocked herself at the Cherokee Challenge in Marlton where she ran 11:44 on the 3,200-meter course, finishing second in the Senior Race. Last year, she didn’t break 12:00 on that course.

In a dual meet with Colts Neck last week at Bucks Mill Park, she finished first in 18:38, making her the third fastest ever on the 5,000-meter course behind the Cougars’ Ashley Higginson (17:34) and Pope Paul XXIII’s Lara Heigis (18:34). Her previous best on the course was 19:19.

What pleased Lambert the most about those races was how she felt after them.

“I didn’t feel I was pushing it,” she remarked.

One thing hasn’t changed for Lambert, though, her running style. All of her miles haven’t helped her develop a finishing kick. She has to win from the front, and the longer the distance the better. That’s why she prefers cross country and its 5,000- meter length to track and its shorter 3,200- meter maximum.

“I have to run my race, which is to set a fast pace,” she pointed out. “I don’t have a kick.”

Her goals this year aren’t time, but rather results. She wants to qualify for the Meet of Champions (MOC) in all three sports – cross country and indoor and outdoor track. Last year, she made the MOC for indoor track where she finished an encouraging 11th place in the 3,200. She missed by just one place, making it in cross country and outdoor track. Those disappointments were added motivation for the Rebel senior. She doesn’t want to suffer that fate again and it’s the reason she is pushing herself more than ever.

Friday, Lambert will get another opportunity to test her fine early-season form, as she will return to Bucks Mill Park for the Cougar Invitational. Many of the top runners from the state and the Northeast will be in attendance.