It isn’t everyone’s desire to spend the day running or working out instead of being at home watching football or playing video games, and many think running is too much work or that running is too painful. But Mr. Mulrooney, Cross Country Coach and Ast. Track Coach, shows another side to that coin… 

Mr. Mulrooney has a passion for success, and he proves this in the passionate and understanding words of wisdom for his athletes, as well as the trust he puts in the team by viewing us a adults. He is always striving and willing to put in the extra time to improve our running by that extra meter or cutting that extra few seconds from our times. I never could’ve imagined how energetic a meet day could feel. Most people would be nervous about running a 5k for a time. But not me--not after Coach gives me his boost of confidence.

My running career would never have developed into a major hobby for me if it hadn’t been for the support of Coach Mulrooney. He manages over 90 runners on the team each year and strives to improve each and every one of us. He is the soothing feeling for our sore joints after a run. He never seems to leave anyone out. And everytime I finish a race and walk near him, he says, “Jake, how did your run turn out? Did you finish at your goal or with a personal record?”

When we come to the track at 3:00pm for our warm-up, he is there ready to start practice and to keep us pushing until 5:15 to 5:30. “Success is a decision” and “The length is always better than the time” are two of coach’s regular phrases.

He would rather we run an extra few meters and be able to run again rather than run faster and crash and burn. He knows the decision is always ours and it’s up to ourselves to stay positive and work through the fatigue. He is like the horsepower behind the car, giving you the extra mile to go.

Everytime the team has a meet coming up, two days before hand we have a meeting to discuss plans for it. Coach hands out race maps (printed by him), sheets with quotes on them (printed by him), and inspiring stories/research tests about running (printed by him). He not only wants to just give us his confidence and his words or wisdom, but he also puts his own free time and effort into it to find these inspire words of others or to get a pre-race map for each of us. Furthermore, he never seems to forget anyones name regardless if the guy is an alumni or returning runner.

When I started in my sophomore year, I never could’ve imagined how exciting or fulfilling Cross Country could be. But when Mr. Mulrooney steps up and shows me what it’s all about, all of the pain and exhaustion seems to fade away. He is like the flow of the river, always naturally showing me the path. For myself and other athletes, he is our mentor, our coach, and our motivation.