FROM PRESS ROW: WATCHING MY NIECE RUN COMBINES MY LOVE OF FAMILY AND SPORTS (2023-10-11)

As the crowd of runners comes racing toward me there is a familiar face in the middle of the crowd.

Looking through the lens of my camera, as I do oh so often taking photos at games, I see the face of my oldest niece, Lillian Shope, working her hardest in a sport that’s brand new to her.

I always knew growing up that I wanted to be a sports writer, covering all the sports I loved.

As a kid I could tell you the stats of just about every player there was, and I could list off the roster of all my favorite teams.

Over the years I’ve had the chance to witness some amazing sports moments, cheering on all my favorite teams.

Through sports writing I’ve even gotten to cover some of the biggest moments in sports, from youth sports, up through college and the pros.

I’ve covered a World Series, and some NFL games, high level college sports and nearly every type of auto racing that is run in the U.S.

Sports are truly special to me, and I’ve even had the chance to share my love of sports with family. The memories of my dad helping out as a photographer with me at races is something I’ll always cherish now that he’s gone.

Over the past two decades plus, it is crazy for me to think it’s been this long, I have seen just about everything in sports, but this fall has been something completely different — and special.

This fall I’ve gotten to watch Lilli run for the Horseheads modified cross country team.

I’ve always enjoyed covering cross country — I’ve been to the past two sectional meets and state championships since I started covering this area and before that I covered districts and states in Pennsylvania countless times.

Now the sport has been extra special to me as I’ve gotten to watch my niece grow as a runner each and every time she runs.

They say as a sports writer you are supposed to stay neutral. Normally I’m great at that, but I have to admit the sports writer side of me disappears and the proud uncle comes out when I see Lilli run.

She went through so much to get to this point. Last spring she hurt her knee and went through a long recovery. While many cross country runners were spending the summer training for the season she was spending the summer trying to get back to full strength.

If you see her running Lilli is hard to miss. She’s one of the smaller runners on the course, but she’s also the one with the biggest heart.

She might not even know it, but every once in a while in the middle of a race you’ll see a little smile on lilli’s race. Running is a part of Lilli even if running on a team is completely knew.

This is a kid that my wife tells me always used to be running when she was little. When I first got to know Lilli she would play tag, running as fast as she can and seeing if anyone could catch her.

She would run until everyone else was exhausted, avoiding being tagged. As I watch her run in races I think back to those moments, and it makes me tired just remembering trying to catch up to her.

As a sports fan growing up I always had the idea of winnings is everything. But, covering sports over the years I’ve seen how important the journey and doing your personal best can be.

As a writer I’ve tried to tell the stories of not just the top athletes on every team, but also athletes who make their mark with hard work and perseverance.

There are so many stories like that in sports, and my niece is one of those stories now.

The most exciting thing has been watching her progress from race to race. Lilli ran at the Owego Invite in just over 20 minutes. A week later she went to the McQuaid Invite and finished in just over 16 minutes. There were runners that beat her by more than two minutes at Owego, that she came back and beat at McQuaid.

A week later my niece came back and ran a 14:39.3 at the Bob Greene Invitational in Newark Valley, a course that included a big hill for the runners. A race later she was under 15 minutes agin.

That’s five minutes in time drops over the past month for Lilli.

Through the rest of this year I’ll cover hundreds, if not thousands of sporting events. There will be amazing moments, dramatic finishes and some games I’ll likely never forget.

But, watching my niece run is something that will always be extra special for me.

I have seven nieces and a nephew, so this may not be the only time I get a chance to cover, or at least watch, one of them compete in a school sport. And I look forward to being a proud uncle for every sport, or other event they take part in.

I love sports, it’s a big part of my life. But, family is everything, and combining family and sports js special.

Watching Lilli run is beyond special. It’s not the times, or place she finishes that makes me proud. It’s that she is pushing herself to do something new.

People watching the race may see Lilli as one of the smaller runners out on the course. Me, I know that I’m watching the girl with the biggest heart you will find.