Going the Distance ... Hanna Peterson

There are a number of words that one could use to describe Hanna's four years of running. The one that I'll settle on is, "amazing."

You really have to have the big picture to understand the appropriateness of that word. You have to see the bookends that are making her story read like a page-turning novel.

Like many 9th graders, Hanna tip-toed into running, much like one tests the waters of a cold pool before jumping in. She took her time, didn't push, didn't jump, didn't submerge herself during those first months. In fact, it was at the pool during the CIF season of 2007 that we first heard of Hanna's new resolve. Literally and figuratively she was going to dive in. With the league season over, that year's CIF squad was doing a low-impact water workout after school and Hanna sauntered into the pool complex at King.  She asked what the group was doing and after getting a brief explanation, she said resolutely, "That's going to be me next year."

If one had doubted the proclamation, it would not have been out of line. You see, Hanna finished no where near the varsity level that season. She was fully a frosh-soph runner without marks in racing nor training that would indicate in one short year she'd be toeing the line at CIF Finals.

But when Hanna makes up her mind about something, get out of the way. In one calendar, she did a full-180 in her running and like an Olympic diver she made the leap, head first.  That next year, she was at the line of CIF Finals, just like she had promised.

She commited herself to training in the offseason and despite a few injury setbacks, she was undeterred and steadily began her rise to stardom. Her sophomore year, even after spending much of the summer in a StarWars-like boot for a stress fracture, she made the varsity team and did pool workouts in November with the CIF squad. She began to really shine in track her sophomore year.

And then came her junior year. Oh my. Like a rocket she ascended. Week after week, she got better ... and better. Her November was the stuff of fairy tales and the dimunitive and determined runner emerged as King's #1 and helped carry the team to it's highest finish ever at CIF Finals and then on into State. Her track season was punctuated with a CIF Finals berth in the 3200 meters in which she proceeded to set the school record of 10:55.  The girl who could run a 1600 meters her freshman year in 5:28 can now do two of them, back to back, in that exact time.

The other bookend is now getting made. She's a highly recruited runner from schools ranging from San Francisco to the University of Arizona in Tucson. She's one of the fastest ever in 30 years to race across the Mt.Carmel course.  It's simply a marvel to watch her set state and national aspirations, take care of herself, plan for the future and work hard toward her goals.

From what she was to what she is ... well, there's only one word. Amazing!