As an incoming Lampasas High School freshman, Hadlee McCorkle already has the need for speed.
On Tuesday, McCorkle will compete in the 1,500-meter race at the national AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa. She clinched her ticket to the event after seeing success at the regional meet in Von Ormy with a time of 5 minutes, 17 seconds.
“When I finished the race, I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I didn’t make it,’ ” the runner said. “Once we checked the boards, I saw my name up there, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I did it!’ I was just so excited. I can’t even find the words. It was really exciting to hear that I made it.”
McCorkle has been an avid runner since she was little. Some of that is due to her parents, Codi and Michael McCorkle, who compete in Spartan and endurance races. From an early age, McCorkle was enticed by the thrill of competition that only a race can bring.
“I barely remember one time I was at the end of the finish line and seeing them go through that one obstacle where they had to crawl under the mud with a barbed wire,” she said. “I just remember thinking it was brutal … probably fun, though.”
McCorkle became intrigued by competitive running after participating in track events during consecutive summers before her seventh-grade year. Then she decided it was time to take the next step and devote herself to the craft.
“I really started to enjoy track and the feeling of being able to run and the self-accomplishment of crossing the finish line thinking you made that goal,” McCorkle said. “Seeing them [her parents] run really made me want to do track and run all of these things.”
And run she did. At Lampasas Middle School, McCorkle competed in a flurry of events, including the 1,500-meter, 800-meter, 4x400-meter relay and 4x200meter relay. She reached new heights in the 1,600-meter and 800-meter events, setting school records.
Despite a solid two-year stint at LMS, McCorkle wasn’t satisfied with her performance at the district meet in the spring.
“My times weren’t on point as they normally are at district,” she said. “I didn’t really feel too good at that meet, but overall I thought I did pretty well because I [set personal records] in the 4x400. That was my last time doing the 4x400, so at least I got something out of that.”
This summer, McCorkle has been preparing for her first high school cross country season along with her upcoming 1,500-meter race at the AAU Junior Olympics. She attended SWAT conditioning workouts in the morning before building speed with her Leanderbased AAU track team, the Texas Thunder, in the afternoons.
Although the training regimen is intensive, it doesn’t matter to McCorkle. The freshman has a large set of goals she is working to achieve.
“I think that it comes from wanting to do well,” she said. “I have goals and times I want to get and colleges I want to go to — I just look toward that. It gets hard sometimes because the sport is mentally draining. But I just have to push through and keep thinking about my goals and what I want to do in the future.”
All the motivation comes from within, her mother, Codi, added.
“We are just so proud she has found something she loves, is committed to it, is putting in the work, and is locked in with nutrition and taking care of her body,” Codi McCorkle said. “That’s all you can ask is that your kid finds something they love, and they learn how to work hard, stay committed, and show up day in and day out. Regardless of if it is running or not, it is something to be proud of.”
McCorkle took her training this summer to the next level by attending the Adams State High-Altitude Cross Country Distance Camp from July 19-24 in the Rocky Mountains — a different setting than the Texas Hill Country. In Colorado, She completed four-mile runs that included climbs of more than 1,200 feet before reaching an elevation of 9,700 feet above sea level. Running in the high altitude was a new but welcomed challenge.
“I didn’t even realize how different it is from up there and here,” she said. “It is so hard to breathe, and it is so different. You can’t even speak up there. Every time you speak, you will have to take a minute. The running, the hills are very different, too.”
Despite being 14 years old, McCorkle will be competing with 15- and 16-yearolds at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. She hopes to finish in the top 20 and earn a new personal record.
When she returns home, she will be ready to tackle the 2-mile cross country races with her LHS teammates.
“That’s what I look forward to is school season, because that is where I find the fun in my sport again because it is mentally draining and is tough,” McCorkle said. “I just look forward to going into school season with friends around me and full stands.”
