Lena Cromley is a girl who prefers to be quiet, keep to herself, and away from the spotlight, but this fall Cromley made waves in the Cross Country community that could not be ignored. Cromley was TC’s only runner to make it to the Virginia State Cross Country Championship and finished the season, placing 19th at the 5k competition with a time of 19:40.
When asked about her success, Cromley was not one to toot her own horn. She said she never really saw herself going to states at the beginning of the season because she didn’t know the requirements. She was only focused on dropping her time and staying motivated from workout to workout.
It was this drive that made her incredible, and lengthy season possible. Cromley sees herself as a very individually motivated runner. She enjoys the feel of the team, but when it comes to racing, Cromley is only focused on doing the best she can do. Cromley also credits her early season success as a big catalyst. “I was able to drop a lot of time early on in the season. Without that it would have been hard to stay motivated to get faster” said Cromely.
However, Cromley faced a major challenge when it came to training for states. Cromley had a difficult time training on her own. Despite her individual motivation, she found it hard to keep going without the team she had grown accustomed to around her.
Nevertheless, Cromley was unfazed by the magnitude of the race. Said Cromley, “I knew a lot of the runners in the region and I was used to running with the top girls. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I wasn’t worried, I just wanted to try my best.”
Unlike many other runners, Cromley has no pre-race tradition. She tries to eat healthy and stay hydrated, but time management says Cromley, especially prioritizing sleep, is a key factor in her success. She does the majority of her homework on weekends in order to ensure she has time to go to practice throughout the week and get as much sleep as she needs.
Despite all the success Cromley has had, at one point she was never planning on being a runner. Before running, Cromley was a great swimmer and wasn’t even familiar with cross country until her older brother, Emmanuel Cromley encouraged her to join the team. Now, Cromley says, she has no regrets and while she only describes the sport as enjoyable some of the time, she’s thankful for her success and the community of runner she’s been introduced to.