HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD: WHAT STARTED AT THE FAST TIMES INVITE 3 YEARS AGO TURNS INTO A MAGICAL JOURNEY FOR FARRELL (2024-05-10)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
Taylor Farrell had some big goals going into the NYSPHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Hawks senior had hopes that maybe if things went perfect she could compete for a state title.

But, never did Farrell imagine what would happen. Farrell dominated th race, winning by more than 13 seconds with a time of 6:40.09, a school and Section IV record.

“So exciting,” Farrell said. “Still trying to wrap my head around it. I worked hard for it, but I never thought I’d be able to make it so it’s still kind of unbelievable I was able to do that.”

As she was racing the Hawks senior didn’t really understand how big of a lead she had until she watched the race back after.

“I didn’t realize how far ahead I was,” Farrell said. “I was freaking out because I was like she’s right behind me. So, I just kept going and then I watched the video and I was like ‘oh wow,’ definitely a gap was formed. So, I was very unprepared for how much I was able to gap the second and third place.”

Then, to add to her magical year the Hawks senior went to New Balance Nationals and set a meet record in winning a national title.

“It definitely made me very excited,” Farrell said. “The girl I was racing was a very good competitor. She pushed me a lot, so I was very happy to have her there.”

One thing that’s helped Farrell all year, and through her career, is having teammates that can push her in the event, especially Sofia Scouten.

“Having Sofia there has been instrumental,” Farrell said. “It’s very nice being able to train with someone. There are some days I’m alone and it’s like I’m not as motivated to try and be my best, but when I’m with other people I’m like I’ve got to be a good example. It’s when I started to do what I should be doing during practice. Especially with Sofia, she’s my best friend so it’s been so great having her these past couple of years doing this with me.”

The two race walkers both push each other and make each other better.

“We are very like minded with race walk,” Farrell said. “We both train very hard with it. We both know what we are supposed to do and have our paces, so it’s nice having someone who is just as motivated as I do to it.”

Everything started for Farrell when she took up the event as a freshman.

“The end of my freshman year,” Farrell said. “It’s actually funny at our local outdoor meet, Fast Times, catch sat me down and was like you haven’t qualified for anything in the running events, but there is this thing called race walk. I was like race walk, that seems interesting. I went to practice with Sofia and they were like you have the form for it, and I kind of brushed it aside. But, then I won Fast times and I was like, ‘huh, maybe it is something I have to keep going with,’ and I’ve done it ever since.”

It’s back to the Fast Times today as the Hawks host the annual invite. The meet is one of the few times in the outdoor season where athletes get a chance to do the race walk.

“Especially during outdoor it kind of gets put aside for a bit, so it’s hard,” Farrell said. “Especially when you get one or two meets where they have it and you all of a sudden have to start raining because your muscles aren’t used to it anymore. During indoor it’s a little bit easier, because they are pretty consistently every meet, but outdoor is al little trickier to train for.”

The whole event is something that takes a lot of work to get used to.

“It hurt a lot (at first),” Farrell said. “A lot of different muscles are being used, especially round my shins. I was like this is very hard, a lot harder than I thought it was. Not just walking, I was in for a rude awakening for sure. I had to be humbled.”

The form is very important when it comes to race walking, and Farrell knows that a lot of people don’t understand how hard the event actually can be.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Farrell said. “I don’t think people understand the level of, not commitment, but you have to pay attention to your form. Your form is the main thing. A lot of people will make comments, ‘oh my God, she’s just walking, how hard can it be,’ but it’s very important that you have good form otherwise you can get disqualified which is something that doesn’t happen in running events. I definitely wish there was more education on how difficult it can be.”

The fact that you can be disqualified if you break form makes it hard to fully celebrate after winning races.

“It’s hard, because sometimes they wait a little bit before they make their decision,” Farrell said. “At Nationals they waited a lot, like five minutes, before they told us okay number six you are out, and then everyone else is like is my number going to get called. It was nerve wracking for sure, especially since I didn’t know right away.

“I was kind of dulling down my celebration a little bit because I wasn’t in the clear, but once they said all good I was like, I can finally celebrate a little bit more.”

While Farrell is a state, and national, champion, this outdoor season will be the end for her in the event.

“This is going to be my last year doing it, just going to be running regularly in college,” Farrell said.

Giving up the event is tough, but it can be grueling on the body, and not every school offers the chance to compete in the event.

“It was hard, but I figured race walking wasn’t the best for my body,” Farrell said. “Neither is running, but for my knees, especially, I don’t have the greatest knees, so I kind of thought about that. I also thought about location of schools that do have race walking and where I wanted to go personally. So there were some things that made me sway away from that.”

If race walking was an event that every school with a track team had Farrell would likely be doing it in college.

“I would 100% race walk in college if they did have it,” Farrell said. “Especially where I do plan on going. I wish it was a little more integrated into some events during meets.”

Over the years Farrell has tried to grow the event by talking to younger kids about getting into it.

“I have tried to recruit here and there,” Farrell said. “I have tried to teach some girls, but I don’t think there is too much education on it so some people are still a little bit iffy about it. But, I”m trying to bring more awareness to try and get more people to join.”

The Hawks senior knows she’s lucky to be at a school that has coaches that teach the event. But, it’s also a big help that the school has had plenty of race walkers over the years who help younger kids learn.

“When I first started I was happy to have coach (Ray) Lawson and coach (Andrew) Cartwright who both knew race walking and how to teach me,” Farrell said. “But, also girls from past years who came like during Christmas break, like Angelina Collins, who came and taught us more of the form and how to do it without getting disqualified. So, I am very lucky to be in a program that did pay attention to it as much as I did.”

Just because Farrell doesn’t plan to race walk in college, that doesn’t mean she won’t ever be involved in the event again. She could see herself helping coach one day, or doing the event for leisure.

“If there is a general interest in the community I’d definitely volunteer for that,” Farrell said. “Try and see if I can find a race walking club, join that, even if I don’t do it collegiately, I still want to be a part of it in the future.”
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STSR FILE PHOTO.


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