Jermyn preaches mental focus

The mental aspect of running is Duke’s focus this fall. “We can be physically fit, but we need the mental preparedness and knowing the dynamic that we’re training for,” head coach Kevin Jermyn said. “We have to train athletes who are used to winning every race they’ve competed in, [or] at least being in the top five, top ten. We’ve got to teach these kids how to run excited, how to run motivated, when they’re in the middle in 110th place and try to move up 10 or 20 spots.” This year’s freshman class fits Jermyn’s description perfectly. Ashley Brasovan won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in high school, and Madeline Morgan won the Nike Cross Country Nationals. Jermyn hopes to teach them how to stay hungry when they’re not in the lead, but in the middle of the pack. Brasovan, Morgan and other underclassmen are poised to contribute early on in their careers. They might not lead every race, but Jermyn has high expectations for his youngsters in practice. “We need everybody to challenge each other the way they’re going to be challenged when we’re racing the best teams in the country at the ACCs, regionals and nationals,” Jermyn said. “We’ve got to create some of those intense, competitive moments in practice. I think some of our freshmen, more than other years, aren’t going to be shy of sticking in their nose and being top one or two in any workout-- I think that’s going to be an exciting element.” Sophomore Carly Seymour will take a leadership role among the Blue Devils this fall, but recognizes the difficulty for a freshmen to enter the environment of NCAA cross country at a competitive level. Seymour finished in the mid-20s at the ACC Championships and NCAA Southeast Regional last year. “Last year was a little difficult, getting adjusted to the new team setting and the new school setting,” said Seymour. “Everything was different. Coming in and doing well was great; I was really happy with that, but it was a little bit of a challenge. I’m very excited this year to have more freshmen come in, to have more challenging practices, and to have them push me a little harder.” Besides helping the freshmen class aclimate to a higher level of intensity, Seymour hopes to shine individually this fall. “Overall, I just want to do better than I did last year,” Seymour said. “I’m more focused toward the championship races, so hopefully I’ll do better at ACCs and Regionals and be a top contender at Nationals.” Jermyn is confident that mental toughness will make the difference for the younger runners, Seymour included. “Our sport is a lot about suffering, and focus, and in a lot of workouts that’s going to be the goal of the day. But there’s no way we can do that every day without sustaining some overstress injury, so it’s definitely a balanced approach. Last year, we erred perhaps on the side of overtraining.... This year we’re worried more about training to get fit, [and preparing] what I think is the most important muscle, the one in between your two ears in your head.”