Molly McNamara Molly McNamara described her trip to the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field as “transitional.”
The Red Bank Catholic High School graduate was in Eugene for the USA Track & Field Junior National Championships on June 23-26 in what was the final race of her great scholastic career, the junior women’s 1,500 meters .
While the 1,500 was her last as a high school competitor, she pointed out that Hayward Field is a venue she will visit frequently when she begins competing for Stanford University this fall. She had her first glimpse of the magic of Hayward Field, called Track Town USA and made famous by the late Steve Prefontaine, at the USATF championships.
“The crowd was really, really cool,” she said. “I’m looking forward to running there again.”
The trip to Eugene, however, was more than transitional. It was another highlight for McNamara as she finished seventh in the final, competing against college women under 20 earning USATF Junior All-American honors.
The USATF Juniors introduced Mc- Namara not only to the 1,500 for the first time, but to qualifying heat races. She’s been accustomed to high school meets, where every race is the final.
Although a novice to qualifying races, McNamara was sharp enough to know that she couldn’t leave anything to chance. The top three finishers in each of the two heats automatically advanced to the June 25 final. The remaining six spots would be taken up by the fastest nonqualifiers. Since her heat was up first, Mc- Namara knew that they would be setting the marker for the competitors in the second heat to aim for. So rather than take a chance of running a time not fast enough to advance, McNamara made sure she was in the top three. A 64-second last quarter brought her home in second place (4:31.87).
“I was happy to get through,” she said.
It proved to be a smart decision by McNamara, because only one girl from her heat who finished outside the top three was able to advance.
The 1,500 itself was a learning experience for the Casey star
“I had nothing to compare it to,” she remarked.
Since the race begins on the back straight, the first 100 meters are much quicker than in a mile or 1,600 meters; there, you start on the curve. And, of course, the times are different: its 300, 700 and 1,100 meters at the end of each lap.
“The splits are different,” noted
McNamara.
McNamara proved to be a quick learner, lowering her personal best down to 4:28.94 in finishing seventh in the final.
It was great way for the Stanfordbound runner to finish her high school career.
“I looked at it as my last go-around,” she said. “I was going to run my own race and enjoy this. I was not nervous.”
The last go-around behind her, Mc- Namara now looks forward to wearing the Cardinal red of Stanford.
“I’m excited to be on the team next year,” she remarked. “I’m willing to do whatever [distance] they want me to do.”
As she heads off to one of the best cross country and track and field programs in America, McNamara brings with her a wealth of experience she accumulated competing at the highest level of competition this past school year, running in the Nike Cross Nationals, the Millrose Games High School Mile, Adidas Dream Mile, the indoor and outdoor nationals, and the Penn Relays. The biggest lesson she learned was to trust her preparation and not think about the race itself.
“You just have to let go,” she explained. “You have to run on faith rather than emotion or fear.”