As the men's cross country team takes to the course this coming Saturday, all eyes will be on the team's leader. Senior Frank Macreery leads a young but talented group of runners with a mix of experience, drive and confidence.
For the past several years, Princeton has been favored to come away victorious, but the trophy has always been just beyond the Tigers' strides.
Macreery knows that this year is different. Dartmouth leads the way as the Ivy League teams look forward to the weekend's competition. At the Pre-Nationals meet two Saturdays ago, Princeton finished 11th in the "White" race, while Dartmouth ran to an impressive fifth-place finish in the "Blue" race.
"I think we're in good position," Macreery said. "We're underdogs to Dartmouth. But in the years I've been here, we've gone in as the favorites. Going in as the favorite and losing is traumatic; going in as the underdog is a better way to prove yourself — there's less pressure."
Humble beginings
Interestingly enough, Macreery's cross country career began with a no-pressure approach. Like many other cross country stars, Macreery initially approached running as a secondary sport, giving it less than a serious commitment.
"My original reason for getting into cross country was my friends," Macreery said. "They ran in the eighth grade and told me I should try it since everyone was going out for it. I played soccer and tennis, but I wasn't that athletic, so I decided to give it a try."
Luckily for Princeton, Macreery did give cross country a chance — and, after a mediocre start to his career, Macreery took off in a time trial at the end of the eighth grade in gym class, beating every single member of his team.
Macreery proceeded to run throughout high school, but his true test was a two-mile track race against national competition. Macreery finished second in the tough field — after being seeded 27th and just barely fitting on the track in the eighth lane.
"Everything just came together that day," Macreery said.
Two sports, intertwined
Since coming to Princeton, Macreery has excelled. He owns personal bests of 14 minutes, four seconds in the five kilometer (3.1 miles), 29:17 in the 10K and 23:59 in cross country (8K); each was set just two weekends ago. In other words, that 14:04 translates to running a mile in a time faster than 4:40.
Though track and field and cross country are two different sports, they are undeniably intertwined with each other — in order to be a successful cross country runner, you need to run track and field, and vice versa. Macreery has excelled at both. When asked about his fondest racing memory, Macreery recalls last year's 10K at the league Heptagonals track meet.
"It was a really strategic race; we really started to race after about 6K," Macreery said. "I was about 50 meters off the leader's pace when, over the course of the last few laps, I caught up to him. He just passed me in the final seconds of the last lap, though. Everybody on the team was so supportive, though; they really got me through the last few laps. It's unusual to have fans, to have real support. When you do have people supporting you, it does make a difference."
While Macreery calls that 10K experience his fondest memory, the 5K is still his favorite race.
"The 5K is like the mile used to be," Macreery said. "It's a long effort, but you're not absolutely killing yourself at the end."
The 10K, however, is a completely different breed of race. As long and as taxing as it is, runners generally try to run only three 10Ks in a season.
"You have to go the whole race pushing yourself," Macreery said. "You're pushing the limit every step of the race. You're dying six miles in."
Each sport — track and field and cross country — has its advantages and nuances.
"Track is more individualistic," Macreery said. "It's more of the glamour sport. Cross country is the guts and grits sport, the team sport — individual performances don't matter as much. I used to be very much a cross country runner, but since then, I've warmed to track. It's hard to say which I like better."
More than just an activity
But when it comes to who Macreery is as a person, cross country is more than just an activity in which he participates.
"Cross country is an entire lifestyle; it's not a sport where you can just go out and practice one skill every day," Macreery said. "It demands more. Over time it's grown on me, and it's become a defining thing in who I am — and I really feel like that's special to all runners. It's become a lifestyle, a spiritual thing."
When the gun fires Saturday, the Tigers will have a chance to put an end to their six-year title drought. Fortunately for Princeton, its leader's "spiritual thing" helps him run down his opponents as a swift Orange and Black predator.
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