Athlete Spotlight

Hometown: Weston, Mass

Concentration: Undeclared

Why Olivia? Olivia placed in the top ten in Patriot League Championships and was named Rookie of the Year.

MN: You placed fifth in the Patriot League Championships, what did you do to prepare for this race, and how did it feel knowing your hard work paid off?

OB: To prepare for Patriots we were running about 50 miles a week and doing a lot of hard workouts. We did everything we could to stay as healthy as possible and be smart about re-covering. I know I speak for the rest of the freshmen when I say that I really had to adjust to the increase in mileage and change my perspec-tive on training overall. Seeing it all come together at Patriots felt incred-ible. It makes me excited about what we can accomplish as a team in the coming years.

MN: How do you stay moti-vated and keep pushing yourself throughout the whole race?

OB: Staying motivated throughout the race is always a struggle. I’d say that mentally, a race is just as hard as it is physically. It helps me to break up the course and try to think only about the part I am running in that moment. Coach always tells us to constantly reassess throughout the race and be positive. Throughout the race it feels good to think that everyone around me is hurting just as much and going through the same mental battle.

MN: How was your transition from high school to Division I?

OB: The transition from high school to Division 1 was definitely difficult because of the intensity and the level of competition. Coach Nardelli made the transition easier by reminding [the first-years] that there wasn’t any pressure on us and that we were re-ally just getting our feet wet this sea-son. She said the races were for the experience which made them a lot less overwhelming.

MN: What is the relationship like between you and your team-mates? How do you encourage and motivate each other?

OB: As a team we bonded really fast this season. I think it helped that we are pretty small because we got to know each other really well. Ellen [Callahan] was the best captain we could’ve asked for and she kept us motivated and connected throughout the whole season. We all support each other and want one another to be suc-cessful just as much as we want to be successful personally.