The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Longer strides mean a big step forward
Mentor’s Dennison says growth spurt helping her become better runner
Savannah Dennison plans on taking fewer steps this season during her races with the Mentor cross country team.
Oh, the races are still 3.1 miles long.
But Dennison, a 15-year-old about to begin her sophomore year, hit a growth spurt that has added almost four inches to her height from last cross country season.
Added height equals longer legs ... equals bigger strides ... equals fewer steps.
“Last year, Savannah looked like a middle-school girl racing high-school girls,” said her father and coach Bill Dennison. “This year she looks like a high school girl.”
Dennison is coming off a freshman year in which she placed 21st in the Division I cross country meet. It’s a finish that makes the quiet-natured runner wrinkle her nose in disappointment because she feels she “cracked under the pressure” of the state meet.
With official cross country practices set to begin Aug. 1, and with an early season invitational at Fortress Obetz — where this year’s state meet will be held — on Aug. 15, Dennison feels she is a different runner this year. That’s probably because she is. She’s taller, stronger and experienced.
Which should serve notice to anyone who plans to run against her this season.
“I’ve grown since last year,” she said after the recent Friday Night Lights 5K at Mentor. “My stride has opened up. I feel a lot better. I feel a lot faster.
“Last year as a freshman, my body was always changing. I still probably have an inch or two of growth coming. But I feel I’m finally settling into my height. I think that will help this year.”
It’s also causing a few changes in her running.
After all, longer strides means a different running style somewhat.
“It’s all about force,” her father said. “When you put force into the ground (with a bigger stride), you get that in return. When you see kids or adults not picking up their knees when they run, they’re not moving faster. She’s taller now, so she can lift her knees and get that return faster.”
The returns are showing on the courses.
At the recent Friday Night Lights 5K, she finished second in the women’s race with a time of 17:48.
That’s a big improvement over the 18:29 she ran at the Captains Grand Slam 5K two weeks previous.
“I want to get as close to 17:30 as I can,” she said of her goals this coming season.
“I want to stay consistently under 18. I tried that last year and didn’t get it. This year, I’m prepared.”
It also helps that she’s getting pushed a lot more in her home workouts by her not-solittle-anymore “little brother” Billy. A 13-year old, Billy Dennison has grown nearly a foot in height in the last year. He ran a 17:27 at the Captains 5K and
a 17:25 at Friday Night Lights.
But Savannah is right on pace with where she should be, her father said.
“Whatever she’s doing, she’s already matched it,” he said in regard to adjustment to her added height and longer stride. “She’s doing workouts with the varsity boys team and hanging with them.”
It’s just the shot of adrenaline she wants heading into the season.
“I know I’m stronger this year,” she said. “Last year was a learning process. I’ve grown into a high schooler running 5Ks. I don’t have that two-mile middleschool mentality anymore.
“I know I’m going to be better this year. I’m ready.”