Athlete of the Week: Clara Hobbie

Clara Hobbie laces her shoes tight as her teammates walk by, patting her on the back. Both the seniors and the younger girls look up to their cross country captain with admiration and support.Hobbie was elected captain at the end of their upper year, after joining the team as a prep following a short stint on her middle school team. She first tried the sport in search of a wholesome community, one which she finally found in Big Red.Right from the start, Hobbie felt included in the team’s atmosphere. She made new friends she would keep through her senior year, thanks to the warm invitation of the cross country community.“The team welcomed me right away and made me feel like I was part of something, even if I wasn’t the fastest. They made me feel like I was just as important as the other runners,” Hobbie said. “I was friends with my teammates throughout the entire year, it wasn’t just fall term. It was the best part of my day, every day.”As a captain and senior, Hobbie has carried on the tradition of warm welcomes. “She’s a really strong leader for the team. She’s always congratulating everyone on how they did, even if they aren’t the fastest on the team,” senior and teammate Victoria Dissmore said.Being friends with her teammates has played an important role in her running career, especially in competitions. Both the support system and the team atmosphere has benefited her as an athlete and as an Exonian.“It plays a big part during a race if you’re running next to a teammate,” Hobbie said. “You push them and they push you. They pull you along. It’s really helped improve my time. It just improves the solidarity of the team and the togetherness of the team.”In fact, Hobbie often pulls others along; in their last race, for example, lower Kelsey Detles was able to finish with Hobbie’s assistance.“There was a time during the first meet of the season, at Choate,” Detles said. “And on the Choate course, there is this huge hill. I had just crested it, and I was really struggling. I didn’t know if I was going to make it but I heard Clara shout at me, ‘You can do it, you got it!’ That encouragement got me to finish the race strong, and even though she ended up beating me, I was really happy with my race.”Not only have her friendships and cross country benefited her athleticism, they have similarly assisted her academic life. “It’s definitely relieved stress that I have, which makes it easier for me to do my work at night,” Hobbie said. “It’s good to have a part of the day where you don't have to think about school at all. You’re actually supposed to not think about school at all, you just thinking about pushing yourself and working hard. It gives me a break from the crazy Exeter achievement-oriented life.”The sport has become so ingrained in her life that it is difficult for Hobbie to imagine a world without cross country. “It would be boring. I wouldn’t get to dress up every Friday. I wouldn’t have such a strong support system and I wouldn’t have figured out how to push myself and train as an athlete,” she said.Although her favorite part of the sport is the other girls on the team, Hobbie also loves the physical nature of cross country, using it as a method of relieving emotions and stress. “It gives me an outlet for all the pent up energy I have during the day,” she said. “You have a set amount of time you know you have to push yourself the hardest you can, and then it’s over. So you can find your limits and then push those limits.”Hobbie’s devotion to the sport led her to be chosen as a captain. She enjoys the newfound role, relishing in the leadership she is granted.“I definitely feel a lot more responsibility towards the girls on the team. It’s great because when they do well, I feel a little bit of their achievement as the team collectively achieves more. I get more excited about the team doing well and I get more focused on pushing the team as a whole,” Hobbie said.Through her four years of experience, Hobbie has one piece of advice to offer those interested in or are new to running: Stay with the team. “Learning to run in packs is the most important part of racing, as well as having teammates that can pull you along and knowing that you can pull your teammates along and having the support system,” she said.The coaches have played an important part in Hobbie’s time with the sport. Coach Dale Braile suggested that she think of herself, to acknowledge that cross country is an individual’s sport and to push herself to her limits without relying on others, even if the support is available to her.Coach Gwynneth Coogan has supplied her energy and kept her going, on both smooth and rough days. However, Coogan attributed Hobbie’s success to her own merit.“She has such a great attitude. She’s positive, she works hard, and she cares about getting better. She’s got so many great qualities that will help her improve, but mainly its just her positivity,” Coogan said. “She’s a great asset to the team, being such a positive role model.”Coogan continued on the role Hobbie plays on the team. “She is so much fun, and such a hard worker. She sets a great example for all of the other girls on the team. She is just amazing to have around,” Coogan said.Coogan believed that Hobbie’s work ethic and leadership qualities have improved both her and the team. “This summer, she tried to get some of the other girls, who are day students, to run with her whenever she went out for a run. She emails the team to keep them updated. She and Elsa are both captains, and Friday is dress up day, so they are very good about letting the girls know about that. It’s just little things like that,” she said.All this dedication has paid off. Utilizing her support systems, her summer training and her fantastic work ethic, Hobbie’s first race of the season was only a little bit off her best time last year. As a captain and runner, this will be her best season yet.