Daily Journal Sports File Justine Fedronic missed most of last season due to injuries. She rebounded in a big way this year, winning the PAL and CCS titles.
Daily Journal Sports File Justine Fedronic missed most of last season due to injuries. She rebounded in a big way this year, winning the PAL and CCS titles.
When Justine Fedronic finishes a race, she always asks herself the same question: "Did I leave it all out there?"
In most of her races this past season, the answer was a resounding "yes." It's no wonder the Carlmont High super sophomore won the Peninsula Athletic League and Central Coast Section Division I Cross-Country Championships before a solid 14th-place finish in the D-I girls' state meet. When Fedronic crossed the finish line at Fresno's Woodward Park in the state championships in 18:26, she knew she had used every ounce of energy in her body, suffering from extreme exhaustion for a good 30 minutes afterwards.
"I was dizzy and even threw up for the first time (after a high school meet)," she said. "It was hard even finishing. I definitely could not have done better."
For Fedronic, the state meet was a culmination of a spectacular season, one that will be hard to top in the coming years. However, the 5-foot-6, 100-pound Fedronic is up for the challenge. Driven to be the best, Fedronic has overcome anemia -- a condition in which the body doesn't have enough iron -- to become one of the premier runners in the Bay Area.
She won the PAL Meet in 17:59 at the Crystal Springs Course in Belmont -- the 10th fastest time by a sophomore in course history -- and put herself into an elite fraternity with the sub 18-minute effort.
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"That was one of my best races of the year," she said. "I had been wanting to do that all season, and I really pushed myself to get that result."
If running is suffering, then Fedronic suffered a lot. Not that she's complaining. Fedronic enjoys the competition and the rewarding feeling that comes with all the hard work and preparation. Her mental toughness is what allows her to dig deep and hit the red line every time she toes the starting line.
"My focus when I start is this is 18 minutes of my life that I can afford to suffer," she said. "Running is mostly mental. Everyone is physically fit; it's how hard you push your body. Everyone has a problem staying positive because sometimes you feel slow and those are the days that break down your confidence. When I'm in a race I always tell myself I'm feeling good even if I'm not."
As a freshman, Fedronic only raced near the end of the season because of injuries. Without the high fitness level, Fedronic's times were well off from what she did this season. However, Fedronic never lost confidence that she'd experience a breakthrough in 2006. With a quiet confidence and steely resolve, Fedronic put together a season to remember.
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