Men's cross country's Stockard focuses on endurance, hard work

"I was too small to play football and too short to play basketball, so I started running. I knew I wanted to do something, and there was nothing else I was good at."

Maybe Wes Stockard, senior captain of the men's cross-country team, did begin his running career this way. But there was no mistaking the glint of irony in his eyes beneath his ratty orange Tiger hat as he recalled the chance inception of his running career at Webb High School in Knoxville, Tenn.

Stockard hit the ground running after falling by default into the sport of cross country, making his high school's varsity team as an eighth grader. In the beginning, an inspiring coach and a great group of guys were his primary motivations for remaining with the team, and, early in his career, he "loved not so much the sport but the idea of competition." Running races satiated his inborn craving for challenge.

Soon the running mentality took over, however, as Stockard developed a love of the sport in and of itself. He had become one of the top high school runners in the country by the time men's running head coach Michael Brady initiated the recruiting process. Luckily for the Tigers, Stockard chose Princeton over Stanford, and has not looked back since.

After going through the "typical adjusting period freshman year," Stockard has been, according to Brady, "a steady and influential member of the program," who "leads by example" and is "as dedicated to the sport of running as any athlete whom I have ever coached."

At the college level, cross country for Stockard is "still about the competition." He runs both track and cross country, but prefers the latter because "it's just one race, with everyone competing the same distance, the same course."

Stockard's rigorous training schedule is a clear indication of his ceaseless desire to cross the finish line ahead of the rest. Over the summer he ran upwards of 120 miles per week. His strategy behind training at such high mileage is to build "an endurance base," for he sees endurance as the key to his success as a runner.

"I'm not very fast at all; I can't leave it up to a sprint or anything like that," Stockard said.

But during the core part of the race – the middle part – where, as any runner knows, the monotony of the course can seep into the mind, causing it to rebel against the body and whisper enticingly, "just slow down" — he is tireless.

The psychology of a runner during such difficult points in the race is an area that Stockard knows all too well, so well he could "write a book about it."

"There's a point in hard workouts, a point in races," he said. "Where you start to feel pain; your legs are dead and your lungs are on fire and you feel like you're going to puke." To Stockard, the "defining moment" of a runner is "how well, when that point comes, you're mentally prepared for it; how well you run considering that you're doing something incredibly hard to do."

In order to be good at something as "incredibly hard" as long-distance running can be, one must enjoy it. Stockard has reached a point in his career where he enjoys even the painful aspects of the sport. "There's something in me that looks forward to those moments, that wants to rise to the challenge. Even though it's tough, the excitement of getting there, of having the opportunity to reach that point and push on is something that drives me."

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No wonder Stockard is, well, good at running.

This year, after finishing sixth at last week's Iona Invitational, Stockard has his sites set on going to the NCAA championships and coming home as an All American, both of which goals are, in the words of his coach, "easily within his grasp."

"As the years have passed, his self confidence has grown immensely, and with the maturity which he has gained from his Princeton experience, Stockard balances perfectly his academic, athletic, and social worlds in a way which make me proud to have him as the leader of this team, on and off the playing field," Brady said.

Achieving personal goals, however, is not Stockard's top priority. What he loves most about running — actually, about his "entire Princeton experience" — is the team.

"I feel like the team is really focused on the group effort rather than on individual races. It's a great dynamic. I've come to feel on any given race day that what I want more than anything is for the team to perform well."

In order to perform well, the team must deepen its pack mentality. Most people who are unfamiliar with the sport of cross country assume that because each member of the team runs as an individual, it is less of a team sport than, say, basketball or football. In reality, however, no sport more clearly illustrates that the strength of the pack lies in the wolf (or Tiger in this case) and the strength of the Tiger lies in the pack.

"Our score is only as good as our fifth man," Stockard said, "Our focus, therefore, is on bringing everyone along with us, not only helping the top guys perform at a higher level but also the guys that are in seventh through fifth places, the guys that can really make a difference in the final score."

It is Stockard's observation that the Tigers in general have always been great about emphasizing the success of the team above the individual. He sees in this year's group of runners, however, an especially strong pack mentality. For this reason, he has confidence that they will finish in the nation's top 15.

The competition will be intense as the Tigers take on teams like Penn State, Georgetown, St. Francis, and, of course, Dartmouth — Princeton's traditional rival at the Heptagonal Championships. But it is precisely that competition that Stockard looks forward to.

Although it's all about the competition for Stockard, stepping triumphantly across the final finish line of the season will by no means mark the end of his running career. Cross country has evolved to become not only the sport he just happened to join in high school.

"It's very much grown into something that I absolutely love. It's fantastic; now going on a run is more something I do to clear my head just as much as it is for training and the idea of competing," Stockard said.

He's hooked for life.

Beyond Princeton, the races might be over, but the competitive spirit that put the fire in his feat ever since he found himself in running shoes will never die.

"I'm sure that later on when I'm old and slow and done racing I'll have to go out at midnight," he predicts. "I won't allow anyone to see me run in broad daylight."