Morgan Markley

Senior Reporter

Balancing a full course workload is not easy at Keene State College. Then add the extra responsibilities of being on the track and field team as well as the cross country team. That’s one mixture for a very busy semester.

Marie Whitney, a junior transfer from The College of Charleston, graduating from KSC this year with a degree in communications, balances all these commitments with a smile on her face.

Whitney said she hasn’t been running competitively for long, “I started running a little in high school and then I really started when I transferred here to Keene [State College].” Making the transition to Keene has been fairly easy for Whitney; she said, “I transferred here and it was so much easier to make friends and I feel like part of a family because we always eat dinner together and do stuff together.”

Emily Fedorko / Photo Editor
KSC senior Marie Whitney transferred from The College of Charleston and will graduate in May with a degree in communications. Whitney has danced and run for KSC cross country. The senior says running has helped her focus on completing her degree.

She added, “It’s great being a part of a team but I also like running because it’s individual so I can work on my own goals and my personal records and everything.” A fellow athlete is sophomore Riley Wilk, who said, “She [Whitney] has a really good personality and she makes everyone laugh all the time and then she’s just really sweet with everyone, so it makes us happy to be around her and everything.”

Wilk also said that Whitney is a great role model, “She’s one of the older ones so it’s really easy to look up to her. If any of us need her we know we can go to her, so it’s really nice.”

Head Coach of the track and field and cross country teams, Peter Thomas, agreed that Whitney is a good role model.

He said, “If [Whitney] is not at practice she’s either in the classroom or the library … a great role model for the young kids to look up to.” Whitney said she loves how close the team is, “The whole team is like a family, so obviously everyone is very supportive of each other.”

In order to achieve her goals Whitney has a good support system. Wilk said, “She’s really motivated when it comes to things and she has really supportive friends and family so I think that helps a lot and whenever she puts her mind to something it really helps and gets her places.”

Whitney agreed.  She said, “They’re [my parents] there almost every race and they’re my biggest support system, so they’re great.” Support plays a large role in accomplishing goals, but Whitney works hard herself to reach those goals and mentally prepares herself.  Whitney said, “Definitely preparing mentally is one of the biggest things because I think that can be a downfall for a lot of people, like if you get nervous. I just try to talk myself through, like mentally prepare myself because I know I’ve been training physically but mentally when it comes to the races that can push you through to get a personal record or having a great race.”

One of the ways Whitney mentally prepares is by, “Listening to music or I don’t know going away somewhere quiet to think is usually what I do before races.” Part of being mentally prepared for races is balancing school work and running.

Wilk said, “If she [Whitney] has classes she’ll figure out like when she needs to do the workout and she’ll balance that out and pretty much just run when she can and do her school work and she’s pretty set on both of them, doing well so, it’s cool.” She added, “She pretty much does whatever she needs and makes a good thing out of everything.” Thomas said that “[Whitney] leads by example athletically and academically” and that she has an “exceptional” work ethic.

Whitney said that although there is a lot of pressure she enjoys the challenge, “There have definitely been moments when I’m really stressed out, juggling school and running. I mean it’s always worth it in the end. I just try to see the positive side of things that it’s a lot of work now but it’s rewarding when I have a good race or if I do well on a test or something.”

Whitney also stated, “Sometimes it can get stressful but I feel like I’ve been able to manage it really well and I feel that if I didn’t run I don’t know what I would do with all that extra time.” One trait that Whitney uses for both running and school work is confidence, “I feel like confidence is a big part of it with school and running. If you have confidence you’re more apt to do well.”

It’s clear Whitney has made a large impact on the team as Wilk said, “I’ve gotten to know her pretty well on the team and … I know I can go to her if I ever need anything that doesn’t even involve running … she’s one of my closest friends on the team.” After graduation from KSC in May, Whitney is not sure what she’s going to do but one thing she does know is that she will miss being part of a team at KSC she said, “Running for [the] college[iate level] is something you can never have that experience again. It’s not just only the team bonding, I’m going to miss the team aspects, running together as a team and you know having a team to be apart of.”

Morgan Markley can be 

contacted at mmarkley@keene-equinox.com