Hailey Reinhard is the 2023 recipient of the Nicole Reinhart Memorial Scholarship.
LVRR: What college will you attend and what is your intended major of study? Do you plan to run while attending college?
HR: I will be attending Bucknell University and I am planning to major in Mathematics. I will be competing in both cross country and track & field.
LVRR: What age did you start running and why?
HR: I’ve been running ever since I was five years old in fun kids races here and there, but I didn’t start running for a team until 7th grade. My parents are both runners, so watching them run nearly every day as I grew up made me want to try it out! When I was old enough to join the cross-country team in middle school, I did. I ended up loving it and decided it was something I wanted to continue to do.
LVRR: What is your greatest accomplishment in your running career?
HR: My greatest accomplishment in my running career was this past May at the PIAA Track and Field State Meet. I had made it to states as a District XI Champion in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m, and I really surprised myself. I decided to do all three at the State meet because there was enough time between each event. I ended up finally breaking the 5-minute barrier in the 1600m, running a 5-second personal best of 4:55, just missing the school record by less than 0.2 seconds. My final lap was a 1:10, which was a feat I didn’t expect, as it was a crowded tight race. The following morning, I was able to achieve the school record in the 3200m, dropping 15 seconds to run 10:42. It was so rewarding to see all the training and hard work pay off at my final meet and season as a hornet. I am so grateful for everyone who made it possible and believed in me.
LVRR: Describe an experience where you had to “sink or swim.” What did you learn from it?
HR: At the cross country EPC Championship Meet my freshman year, I went out really fast in the lead and actually made a wrong turn apparently. Halfway through the race, I knew I went out too hard as I was getting passed one by one. I wanted to stop and give up, but I didn’t, and I finished the race for the team. If I hadn’t, our EPC team title might have been in jeopardy. From this experience, I learned that I have to be patient and run my own race. I also learned that starting out the race hard wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as this strategy helped me in future races.
LVRR: Who has been your most influential role model and why?
HR: My most influential role model has been my mom, also known as my coach, Coach Kami. She always encourages me to be the best that I can be and gives me the tools to be able to do just that. She is the most kind and giving person I know and she taught me to be the same and treat everyone with kindness, respect, and honesty. I see her at home put so much time, hard work, and dedication into everything she does, whether it be for her job as a physical therapist or a head coach. She does a lot of good things without anyone knowing. She doesn’t like attention or credit and doesn’t talk about herself or her achievements with her athletes. Her example has taught me to do the same. She and the EHS coaches create a team culture that includes community service, acts of kindness, raising over $26,000 for the Emmaus Shave for the Brave, fun team activities, and endless funny and inspirational quotes, while still having high expectations to be the best we can be for ourselves and our team. At the Student Announcement Day, we heard many of her athletes thank her for what she has done in their lives, and I am just as grateful.
LVRR: What would most people be surprised to learn about you?
HR: Most people would be surprised to learn that I am a swimmer and I have been swimming for the past 13 years. I continued to swim competitively for Emmaus High School all four years and was lucky to advance to the PIAA state meet my junior year and had an unbelievable experience with my teammates at Bucknell University. I still love the water and I will continue swimming as cross training as I really do think that it helps me become a better runner and swimming helps to keep me healthy.
LVRR: What is one word you would say to someone who has just started running– whether it be a youth in the LVRR Kids Series, or an older individual- about why running is worth it?
HR: One word I would say to someone who has just started running about why running is worth it would be that it is rewarding. Running comes with so many rewards: it is great for your physical and mental health, provides you with a community of friends who support and motivate you, and keeps you accountable and goal-oriented. Additionally, when you accomplish your goals and see improvement in yourself, you feel proud and it makes you happy. At the same time, running also teaches you a lot of lessons: to have patience, to never give up, and to listen to your body. These are just a few of the rewards you can receive from running, and when you do, it makes the sport so worth it.
LVRR: What events did you run in high school?
HR: In high school, I competed in everything from the 400m up to the 3200m for track, and the 5k in cross country.
LVRR: Is anyone else in your family a runner?
HR: My family is full of runners. Both of my parents are runners and still run today. My parents both meet up with friends to run, and it makes them so happy. Additionally, I will be joining my sister, Kera, at Bucknell where we will run together on the cross-country and track & field team. LVRR: How do you stay motivated when you don’t want to run?
LVRR: What cross-training do you incorporate into your running routine, if any? Do you focus more on cross-training in the off-season (if there is an off-season for you!), or do you tend to cross-train throughout the entire training cycle?
HR: I tend to cross-train throughout the entire training cycle for all the sports I do. In both cross country and track, I would swim two or three times a week for extra aerobic work to take some stress off of my legs. During the winter, I swim for the swim team full-time and run two or three times a week just to maintain fitness.
LVRR: What are the top three “little things” that you do to prevent injury?
HR: The first “little thing” I do to prevent injury is taking the time to stretch and foam roll every muscle group really well both before and after working out. Foam rolling is something that I like to do after my runs get stubborn soreness and knots out of my legs. The second “little thing” is making sure that I am fueling with good nutrition and hydrating well, but also remember it’s okay to cheat now and then. And the third thing is sleeping at least 8 hours a night to allow my body to heal and be healthy.
LVRR: When faced with a rare but disappointing race finish or workout, how do you pick up and motivate yourself to try again? Is there a specific running mantra that has helped you pull through disappointment?
HR: Whenever I am disappointed with a race or workout, I first take the time to reflect on what could have been better. After reflecting, I focus on making some sort of improvement for the next race or workout. I use the bad days to learn and grow as a runner. My coaches talked about the rule of the thirds this past season, which Olympian Alexi Pappas learned from her coach, and I keep that in perspective. She basically said that ⅓ of your racing and workouts tend to feel great. ⅓ tends to be alright, not good but not bad. And ⅓ may not be what you want, but that is normal. We are not supposed to PR and feel 100% all the time, so it is normal to have a bad workout or race every now and then. And it is important to put those bad workouts and races behind you and keep looking forward to reaching your goals.
