Clara Cook tried soccer, basketball, and horseback riding, but no activity stuck with the DeWitt High School freshman like cross country. Her disdain for basketball and soccer,
due to the physicality of those sports and being bored at her position, led her toward cross country.
Fate has shown that was the right choice for Cook.
“I played soccer for my whole life and I never really liked it,” Cook said. “I wasn’t really good at it, and I begged my mom to do anything but soccer because I had so much energy. I played basketball in the winter of seventh grade, which I hated, so running was nice because it was not very physical and I don’t have any hand-eye coordination.”
She is leaving her mark on cross country in the Lansing area early in her career. She has run in nine races as a freshman, and placed first or second in every single one.
At the DeWitt Invitational on Oct. 5, Cook set a new school record in the 5,000-meter with a 17:58 - beating the previous record by over 30 seconds.
DeWitt Head Coach Brian Tomanek noticed how she focuses when she runs, despite being in her first year on the team.
“One thing that makes her different, she’s able to go to a dark place, ‘the cave’, and just run,” Tomanek said.
Cross country clicked for Cook, allowing her to expend all of her daily energy and to be alone with her thoughts.
“It made me feel very free, and just kind of gave me time to think about my day,” Cook said. “It’s fun running with people, but then when you’re by yourself, it’s really nice because it’s just alone time.”
Winning and placing high in multiple races comes with raised expectations, some of which Cook puts on herself.
“I think the pressure I put on myself is I have to win, I have to do good,” Cook said. “The good pressure is more about just going out there and having fun. It’s not really about your times or your place, it’s just have fun, enjoy the run.
“That is kind of the pressure my coaches put on me.”
Cook always finds a way to respond to that pressure and use it as motivation to continue improving. The progression in her running comes from the countless hours of training she puts herself through year-round
“Cross country, we train a lot of hills starting in June and we go until about November or December, depending on the races that I do,” Cook said. “December through mid March is indoor training, and then March through the beginning of June is outdoor training. In between, we get like a week’s break or two weeks. It’s nice because you’re always on the grind and your body eventually gets used to it.”
The rigorous training schedule has brought strong results with the improvement of Cook’s running, but also has produced some training injuries. The recovery process stopped her from competing in the entire eighth-grade track and field season.
“In my right quad, I tore and strained two muscles,” Cook said. “In my left quad, I also tore and strained two muscles, and in my left hip I had a stress reaction in the socket.”
It was a long rehab process for Cook, as her physical activity was limited.
“It was rough, I mean, I had two months of limited steps to 10,000 a day and that was it,” Cook said. “I couldn’t bike, I could barely even walk. So that part was super chill, but after two months went by, that’s when I started going back to physical therapy. I did biking. I was biking everyday so I got sick of that, but I knew without the biking I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now. It was long, and it was definitely not fun.”
Cook’s father, Rick, was able to find a way in which he could support her through the injuries.
“We really try to support everything she wants to do, but also get her to think about the things she should do,” Rick said. “So, that’s about rest and sleep, but giving her opportunities to race in big moments.”
Tomanek has been able to work with Cook since she began running in middle school in the offseason. His biggest challenge has been finding a balance for her progression.
“Most of the training has been aerobic training,” Tomanek said. “I feel like I’ve been kind of having to hold her back a little bit. Colleges are not looking for those running 90 miles a week, because they won’t see much room for improvement.”
Ultimately, five years down the road, Cook wants to be running cross country at a high-profile Division I program, and Tomanek believes she can.
“I guess step one, I try to get her to dream big because people have done it from similar situations,” Tomanek said. “Step two, help her in any way I can to achieve that goal.”