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18 Sports

Maria Mendez

copy editor

As the sun rises in the sky, thousands of people gather on South Congress Avenue before the Ann B. Richard’s bridge and Statesman Bat observatory, awaiting the starting signal. In the midst of the sea of lime green dry-fit shirts, stand out some superheroes, a banana, a piñata, and the navy and silver shirts of Hendrickson students, staff, and parents.

Thirty-five students and faculty members ran the 2015 Statesman Capitol 10K marathon for the first time as a team on April 15. The 37-year-old marathon donates proceeds to a different beneficiary every year and features an annual costume contest, a kid’s marathon, and middle and high school challenge, which were started eight years ago to help schools win money. Assistant Principal Clarissa Alvarado, who also introduced the event to Paredes Middle School, where she formerly taught physical education and coached, assembled the Hendrickson team.

“I’ve always wanted to do this when I got to Hendrickson,” Alvarado said “This is the first year where I thought ‘okay, I’m in a position where I can get a team together.’ I thought this would be great to get the community involved in doing something fun in downtown Austin and also something active.”

Alvarado has run the Capitol 10K every year ever since she started with Paredes Middle School, but for some students and staff members this was their first Capitol 10k, or even first marathon. For other students like sophomore Vanessa Gonzales, the 6.2-mile marathon route was nothing new.

“It’s like a tradition of my family we started like four or five years ago,” Gonzales said. “I normally run with my dad.”

This year, Gonzalez ran the course with her mom, Margarita Gonzalez, who also works at HHS and registered with the school team. Many other faculty members, and students ran with their families, and even pets.

Senior Whitney Woodward and her dad were able to accomplish one of their goals through the marathon.

“My dad and I have always wanted to run a race together, so when this came up it was just the perfect opportunity for me and my dad to do something together,” Woodward said. “We had actually trained for a run together a few years ago so we did training then, but we were never really able to actually run it.”

Because the race must be completed while roads are closed off for the event, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, participants are recommended to train for the long run.

Team members, like Alvarado, prepared for the event through

other marathons, races, and their daily fitness routines. However, others admit to not preparing for the race.

“That’s my claim to fame,” Assistant Principal Zach Kleypas said. “I haven’t run at all.

[I will probably be] pretty terrible, but I won’t be in last. I can guarantee that.”

With Austin’s uneven landscape, runners must power through some steep hills. In order to help runners stay motivated the Capitol 10K provides participants with entertainment, featuring an array of bands along the course, and a finish line festival. Team members persevered through personal motivation, encouragement from family and friends, and positivity.

“I loved it,” Alvarado said.

“Some of the teachers and staff were talking about Conally High School, they’re band was out by like mile three performing, which I think is great. It’s just another way to also represent Pflugerville, and especially Hendrickson High School. I love being able to do community type events with faculty and staff. We get to see each other in a different light and it’s fun. It’s all about that personal accomplishment.”

Before taking off in the race, team members gathered near the starting location to take pictures and prepare together. Most of the members finished around the

first hour of the rac e, crossing the finish line, where Alvarado was ready to greet team members, as well as other students who also ran the marathon.

“I met up with the Hendricks on group and there was about maybe ten students,” Woodward said. “Even this week I ’ v e m e t so many people that weren’t in the Hendrickson group, but were students because they’ve been wearing their finisher shirts and they’ve all said they had a fantastic time and it was a lot of fun.”

With this year’s success, Alvarado hopes to encourage even more students, parents, and staff to join the event and make it another healthy school tradition.

“I already have ideas about what to do for next year,” Alvarado said. “I definitely want to make it a tradition for Hendrickson. So as early as I can put it out there to get more students and staff and just letting our school community, parents and former students, to join our team and come on out.”

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“We always get in a huddle on our knees and we pray. I always wear eye black and the same pair of socks. I listen to music to get myself pumped.”

Varsity: 1st and 3rd base

Do you have any traditions?

“Yes, I’ve built so many friendships throughout the years, and I feel like I wouldn’t be friends with a lot of people if it weren’t for softball. It creates a lot of connections. It helps you master a lot of skills that you can use outside of the field like working with people even if you don’t like them. It shows how important teamwork, hard work, dedication, and determination really are.”

Julianna Valdez, 12

“To have my teammate’s backs, team before I. To put others before yourself.”

Would you encourage your children to play softball in the future?

Varsity: Right field

What has softball taught you outside of the field?

Alejandra Maldonado, 12

Gabby Garcia, 10

Varsity: Pitcher, 2nd and 3rd base.

Softball players explain passion for sport, traditions in Q&A Do you have traditions before or after a game?

“I’m very superstitious. I went through this phase where I would touch the chalk then my fingers. Recently, I had this batting glove that was either torn up and smelled pretty bad. It was like a tradition not to let them go and throw them away. It would help me out, knowing all the things that I’ve done with them. It gave comfort.”