Alex Love fell in love with running when he was only 5 years old. He ran his first 5k as a kindergartener at Bodkin Elementary coming in third in the ten and under age group.
Though he played basketball, baseball and soccer throughout his elementary and middle school years, he was just biding his time until high school when he could join the cross country team
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Love, an honor roll student, joined the cross country team his freshman year and immediately began to shine. Last fall he was named to the All County Team by the Capital after finishing 5th in the county and 15th in the state. Going into this season, the Baltimore Sun named Love a “Runner to Watch.”
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But the confidence of others will only get a runner so far. Training gets them the rest of the way and Love is devoted to his training. This summer, while other Chesapeake High runners were training on their own, Love joined the Severna Park High School’s cross country team on their weekly organized runs.
“I needed the competition,” Love said, “It is hard to know how you are comparing with others if you are always running alone.”
Coming into the 2011 season after having won the Annapolis Striders’ Summer Cross Country series, Love has built a level of confidence he hopes he can use to spur his team on to a repeat of last year’s County Championship.
“Right now I am the fastest kid on the team,” Love said, “so I feel a responsibility to set a good example for the younger runners. I hope they see how much I love it and how hard I work and will want to do the same.”
For Love, running is about more than the competition or the physical gains he gets from training. Love understands that running offers a release that is hard to find in other areas of life.
“I love running because when you are out running you don’t worry,” he said, “Running keeps you calm and it gets your mind off stuff that upsets you. It helps relieve the stresses of life.”
Love is not a single minded young man but he has found a passion for running. He hopes to carry this passion through life and to lead others to the sport by example.
