After collapsing at practice, Daleville runner learns important lesson in return to cross-country

DALEVILLE, Ind. — For two months, Kadence Aikin didn't know what was wrong with her.

After months of training, cutting minutes off her times during the summer, the senior cross-country runner was forced to sit out most of her final year. She watched her Daleville teammates, who all worked so hard preparing for this season, frustrated she couldn't be out there with them.

In mid-July, Aikin collapsed during a tempo run. Her heart rate was at 208 and she was rushed to the hospital. Head coach David Beard, whose own son was diagnosed with a coarctation of the aorta when he was 9 years old, was on high alert. Who wouldn't be? But with his background, he immediately shut Aikin down and she wasn't allowed to run until they figured out what was going on.

For two months, Aikin was left wondering. She took an emergency electrocardiogram (EKG) to check for heart conditions; she was placed on a 14-day heart monitor. The doctors couldn't pinpoint the issue. Eventually, she was referred to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis where they did cardiac testing, pulmonary testing on her lungs and more.

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They couldn't figure it out. They couldn't figure out why Aikin's heart rate would rise to unsafe levels, why she had chest pains, collapsed or why her body would go numb.

"It was terrible," Aikin said. "I'd have to sit there and watch my team compete and coach Beard, he'd see the frustration on my face, the tears. I'd cry when I'd see them run. 'I want to be out there. Why am I not out there? Why is this happening to me right now?'"

Beard consoled her the best he could, equally as disappointed when he'd see her frustration. There were times she'd try to convince him to let her go out and run, but he wasn't having it. They prayed and, eventually, got the answers they were looking for.

Aikin's issues were of her own doing. She admitted she never really liked cross-country, she preferred track, but Beard — who decided to return to coaching after another senior, Jordan Reyes, convinced him to come back — had her and her teammates motivated in a way she'd never seen before.

All the expectations Aikin put on herself were the reason for her issues. She wanted to succeed so bad, it was making her sick.

Having that knowledge helped, but Aikin's issues didn't go away right away. After missing the first month of the season, she returned during the Yorktown Jim Leffler Invitational on Sept. 17. Two miles into the race, Aikin collapsed again.

"Her first race back, she was so thrilled but she was so nervous," Beard said. "Two miles into it, she got too worked up and too anxious, kind of panicked and she had to quit. Afterwards, we had a moment where she's crying on my shoulder and everything and she goes, 'I don't think I really should've quit. I think I could've done it.'"

Beard thought she could have, too. He also knew how hard it was to pull herself out of the race.

The following week, at the New Haven Invitational, Aikin started to have the same feeling in the middle of the race. But her teammate, Jenna Brand, looked over to her and said, "Let's finish this together." So Aikin did, running a 23:44 and finishing 41st.

"That what got me almost in tears because I didn't think I was going to finish the race because that's all I wanted so bad was to finish and my mind switched," Aikin said. "I was like, 'I can do this. I need to stop holding myself to these high expectations. I can do this.'"

At the Mid-Eastern Conference Championship, Aikin finished 14th with a 23:20. At the Delta cross-country sectional, she ran a personal-best 22:54, finishing first and helping Daleville's girls advance to the regional for the first time as a team.

Seeing his runners' reactions, Aikin's wide smile among them, made all the issues they dealt with in the preceding months worth it.

"That's what it's all about right there," Beard said. "... Just to see their confidence and their self-esteem soar, any coach is going to tell you the same thing, that's a thrill."

Now Aikin, who returned under the impression she only had three high school races left, is exceeding even her own expectations. She never expected to be competing in a regional but she'll be heading back up to Taylor University this Saturday to do just that.

Somewhere along the way, she let go of her own unrealistic expectations and mental hurdles she put herself through. A little more than two months after collapsing at a practice, Aikin proudly ran across the line in front of hundreds of fans to help her team achieve something no other Daleville girls team has ever done.

Aikin realized she's so much mentally stronger than she thought she was. She realized that her success on the course didn't hold the weight she might've thought it did.

"I feel like athletes just hold themselves to such unreasonably high expectations," Aikin said. "You're only human. You can only do so much."

With that mindset, Aikin is achieving at a higher level than she ever though possible. There are plenty athletes who can use the lessons she's learned and can apply them to their own careers. At the end of the day, you can only do your best. Everything else will take care of itself.

Now, Aikin has processes she goes through prior to races to calm herself down. She's thankful for Beard for the support he's given her along the way.

Beard believes everything happens for a reason. He wasn't supposed to be coaching this year or ever again, but he's glad he did. Seeing Aikin learn lessons he knows will help her throughout the rest of her life and seeing his girls team achieve what they've been able to brings a smile to the long-time coaches face.

"This situation will help her not take good health and opportunities and simple things in life for granted," Beard said. "Her confidence is soaring right now. ... She's a giant slayer right now."

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: After collapsing, Kadence Aikin learns important lesson in cross-country return