Three Westover Students Complete Cheshire Half Marathon

Middlebury, Connecticut – Three Westover students competed in a half marathon in Cheshire, Connecticut, on April 27th. While two of the students had experience competing in a 13.1-mile race, it was the first half marathon for the third student.

The three students trained for the race as part of an informal half marathon team, which was formed at Westover in the spring of 2012. Most of the Cheshire race took place on the Farmington Canal Trail. Weather conditions were perfect: the temperature was warm with a slight breeze, and there was little humidity.

Competing in her first half marathon, Samy Misasi, a junior from Dorset, Vermont, said, “It was really fun and it was a challenge. I thought it was going to be hard, and while it was, it was not as hard as I expected. The most challenging part was mile 4, because it felt endless.” Misasi finished her first half marathon in 1,222nd place, out of a field of 1,429, with a time of 2:26.30. 

Emily Potts, a senior from Killingworth, Connecticut, said she thought the Cheshire course was better than the one she has completed twice before. “The course was mostly on a trail through the woods. It was a very sunny day, cold at first but it turned out to be the perfect running temperature. Most of the other runners were older. There were hardly any people that appeared to be high school age. ” For her, it was the seventh mile that was most challenging. “I expected the overall race to be a lot harder than it was,” Potts said. “I was surprised that I was not sore the next day.”

Though Isabella Yu, a junior from Cheshire, Connecticut, said she encountered the most difficulty in her first mile, she described her overall experience in the half marathon as “peaceful.” Yu finished 16th in her age group, with Potts right along side her, both finishing at 2:17.52, placing 1,083rd and 1,084th respectively. Yu’s performance was much improved over those in her first two races with Westover’s half marathon team.

Potts and Yu twice ran together in the Amica Iron Horse Half Marathon in Simsbury, Connecticut, in June 2012 and June 2013. Yu credited her improved time in the Cheshire half marathon to her training, though she said the weather conditions might have been a factor as well. “I expected to be more exhausted during the race than I actually was,” Yu said. “In my previous half marathons I ran in 90-degree weather, so this one was much easier to finish. “

The three students agreed on their favorite part of the race: the finish. Misasi was impressed with that final stretch. “I passed three people at the finish and got a finisher medal,” she said. All three completed the race, did not sustain an injury, and all ran the entire length of the course. 

Each has advice for anyone planning to run a half marathon. Misasi encourages potential runners simply to “try your best,” while Potts advises runners to follow a training schedule. “You will be miserable or get injured during the race if you don’t,” she said. Yu offered this voice of experience: “I would advise someone training for a half marathon to pace themselves throughout their training and not push themselves too hard.”

Westover hopes to continue the half marathon program in future years. It provides the girls an opportunity to compete off-campus against all ages and to experience the 13.1-mile race, not typically offered at the high school level. 

Westover is a selective boarding and day school in Middlebury, Connecticut, with 205 students in grades 9-12 from 17 states and 20 countries. The School offers its students more than 20 Advanced Placement courses as well as signature programs in science, engineering, art history, and music.