Hailey Hansen didn’t know what to expect when Trinity’s cross country coaches switched to a different training method in the offseason.
With two wins and a runner-up finish in three meets this season, the sophomore from Oak Park now is a believer.
Hansen has been one of the pleasant surprises in cross country this fall. She did not even run on the varsity last season when Trinity took third at the 3A Sandburg Regional.
What a difference a year makes as Hansen has emerged as one of the best runners in the west suburbs. She is one reason why Trinity, which placed 25th at the 2A state meet in 2013, is a favorite to win the Class 3A Young Regional on Oct. 24.
Hansen’s only postseason running experience came last spring in track and field. She finished 28th in the 1,600-meter run at the Class 2A state meet when the Blazers finished seventh as a team.
“I am proud to say that this is the strongest group of varsity runners Trinity has had,” Blazers head coach Renee Koziol said. “Our success this year is due in large part by the implementation of the Jack Daniels training method which (assistant coach Jim Doyle) has structured and individualized for our athletes.”
Trinity’s new training program was developed by college cross country coach and Olympian Jack Daniels and presented in his 1998 book, “Daniels’ Running Formula.” The idea to switch methods was a combined decision by Doyle and Koziol, who is in her fifth season at Trinity but has accepted a job as a counselor at Plainfield North.
From the first summer workouts, Hansen knew things were different when the varsity and JV cross country teams trained in different groups.
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“Each group has its own specific workout,” Hansen said. “Last year, everybody on the team had the same workout. We had the same workouts every week and had the same distances to run. We did a lot of mile repeats.”
Varsity runners are using longer runs than the JV, and the workouts are more intense, according to Hansen. Now during mile repeats, girls run a mile, take a break, and then run another mile. The Daniels program includes charts and formulas for tracking progress for each runner and measuring oxygen levels in the blood.
Hansen has responded with the best performances of her life and set a school record with her time of 18 minutes, 29.6 seconds to win the Elmwood Park Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 10. Senior Emily Doyle (second, 18:51.6), sophomore Emma Creviston (fourth, 18:55.7) and senior Paige Jaffe (eighth, 19:19.7) also led the way for Trinity, while freshmen Bridget O’Bryan (15th) and Catherine Doyle (16th) lent support.
Hansen captured the St. Patrick Invitational Sept. 2 and was second at the Niles West Savage Invitational Oct. 3.
Hansen said one of the benefits of the new Daniels program is it prevents, or at least limits, injuries during the season. She has not felt any painful shin splints that hampered her running last season.
“I think at the beginning of the season I had some good races,” Hansen said. “I didn’t realize I would run this fast. I think we’ve been building confidence and I’d love it if we could become champions.”
Hansen’s sudden rise caught Koziol by surprise. Earlier this season, Hansen joined Jaffe as the only Trinity runners to beat Doyle, a state qualifier in the 3,200 and normally the team’s No.-1 runner. Doyle challenges all of her teammates to run their best.
“I encourage it,” Koziol said. “Emily is all for it. She says, ‘Girls, come and beat me.’ At Elmwood Park at the first mile, we were running 1-2-3. They have learned to compete and it’s great.”
Twitter @geomwilcox