Charyl Stockwell cross country senior has checked marathon off bucket list
There are faster cross country runners in the state, but Raymond Rogers of Charyl Stockwell has one accomplishment that makes him unique among high school runners.
He’s already run a marathon.
Doing a 26.2-mile race is a bucket-list item for many runners, but not until after they’re done competing in high school or college.
At the suggestion of his sister Katie, Rogers ran the Mesa Marathon last Feb. 12 in Arizona in a time of 4 hours, 24 minutes and 14 seconds.
“My sister was like, ‘Hey, you should go do this with me,’” Rogers said. “I’m like, ‘OK.’ My sister got me into it. She also got me into running.
“I didn’t train as much as I probably should have. I did it at a pretty good pace. It took me a week to recover. Then I was back on my feet and running.”
The training Rogers did for the marathon gave him a stronger base as he went into track and field season, then into the summer preceding his senior year of cross country.
“All that training got him fired up,” Stockwell coach Ron Abner said. “He was leading the team on 10-mile runs pretty frequently in practice. He developed a huge cardio ability and was getting in really good shape. Nagging injuries held him back last year. This year, he came in and had all that fitness under his belt and stayed healthy. That was the key.”
But it was more of a change in mindset that transformed Rogers from a runner with a personal best of 19:17.6 as a junior to the leader of a state-qualifying team who consistently runs in the 17s. His time of 17:13.4 in the Stockbridge Invitational is the second-fastest in school history, trailing only Jeremy Bond’s 17:03.0 in 2015.
Rogers is Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week after finishing fourth at regionals in 17:37.5, leading the Sentinels to their first berth in the state meet as a team.
“The biggest thing that changed for me was my attitude,” Rogers said. “I view a lot of stuff differently now. I have a better positive attitude with everything. I see most things as a growing opportunity.
“I just looked back and thought to myself I have just one more year to make everything count. I want to leave a mark.”
Rogers has been a leader for the Sentinels on and off the course.
“This is my 12th year coaching cross country,” Abner said. “He’s by far the best captain I’ve ever had. He’s just a ton of fun. The kids get fired up for him.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Charyl Stockwell senior has checked off marathon from bucket list
