Near the end of the cross country season, Emma Zawatksi was named Second-Team All Shore. Emma, only a freshman, has already broken several records and is expected to break even more. Following the ending of the cross country season, the Patriot Press interviewed Emma.

How old were you when you fell in love with running?
I was in sixth grade, so about 11 years old. I never really liked running until after fifth grade. I got injured in sixth grade and since I wasn’t able to run during that time I realized how much I missed it. After I got better, I started running again and realized how much I loved it.

What is one of your favorite places you have run in?
I went on vacation to Virginia Beach and there was a trail that was about 10 miles long. It was all just bays and wildlife. It was super fun to run in because of all of the sights, the ducks, geese, and other animals that I was able to see as I ran. It was beautiful.

What was your favorite part of the season this year?
Meeting everyone was definitely my favorite. Since I am from Manalapan, I did not know a lot of people from Freehold. So when we all started training together, I was able to make new friends and become super close with everyone. Practice was the way I was able to meet new people and have people I knew in Freehold Township.

What is your pre-meet ritual?
I always eat an egg and a piece of toast for food, and I like to listen to music on the way to the meet. I warm up, and before the race, I go to the bathroom about a million times. Right before the actual race, when I am on the line, I think to myself that there is no reason to stress since I’m doing what I love, which is running. Then the race starts.

How do you stay calm before a meet?
Honestly, I read a lot. I also like to think about what I’m going to do after the race. I usually think about stuff like what am I going to have for dinner or if I get dessert after the race, just general stuff like that.

Do you have any mottos or quotes that you like?
One that I really like is, “Anxiety is here, I’m ready”. To me, it means that if I’m feeling anxious, that’s not a bad thing. It means that I care, which is a good thing. My second one is, “The quicker you finish, the quicker you can get water,” because when you are running you can get very tired and you just want to stop and walk. But, at the same time, you want water which really helps me cross the finish line.

What is one of the biggest mental challenges while racing?
I struggle with a lot of anxiety, so if I feel even the slightest bit tired, I always seem to think, “That’s it, I’m out for the entire race. I’m gonna do horrible.” I’ve been working on that this past year and starting to change the way I think. I start to realize that I am running a race very quickly, so I’m obviously going to feel pain just like everyone else running the race. It really is all about getting over the race and all the anxiety.

What is a time that you hope to beat in high school?
My goal this year was to break 18 (minutes) in the 5k, which I wasn’t able to do this year. But, I know that I will definitely be able to beat it next year. In fact, I hope to break around 17:45 (minutes) next year for the 5k. For the 3200 meters in track, I hope to beat around 10:50 (minutes).

What do you hope to do when you are older?
My biggest goal in the entire world is to go to the Olympics. I love the Olympics and my entire life revolves around the Olympics. A more near goal is that I hope to make it to Footlocker Nationals. All the training that I do and everything else is to hopefully be able to achieve these goals one day.

Is there any specific person that you would say is your role model?
Emma Coburn. She is an Olympian and a world champion. She runs the 3000-meter steeplechase, which is the race that I want to run. She does a 5k race fundraiser every year, which I sign up for, but I can’t go to the race because it’s in Colorado. But, they started doing an online race, so I signed up and was able to run it at home and got a basket and everything. She is such an amazing person, and I message her all the time and she always gives me advice and support. I also find it really cool that we have the same first names.

How do you feel about being Second-Team All-Shore only as a freshman?
It was really exciting when I got the news. My goal was to make First-Team All-Shore, so I was a little disappointed but it gives me something to work towards next year. It was definitely amazing and awesome when I got the news though. I am still super grateful for the title.

Congratulations on an amazing season Emma!