A Thinker in a Thinking Man's Race

Listen to Swampscott High two-miler Peter Hale's thoughtful description of last weekend's Emerging Elite New Balance Nationals race.

"The race at nationals went out slower than it did at New Englands," he said. "I was four seconds off the pace in the first mile and that ended up working perfectly. I had time to work my way to the front and push it the last 800 meters."

They say distance running is a thinking man's race.

Peter thinks about running and dedicates himself to the sport.

He won the Emerging Elite race, featuring some of the best runners in the country, finishing the two miles on the indoor track at the Armory in NYC in 9:18. 

It was the senior's fastest two miles ever. 

To watch Peter Hale run a race — and finish it — is to see a calm athlete who appears to not to be laboring.

He reveals no great strain while stridng over grass or tracks nor does he pant or collapse or tend to show pain after crossing the finish line.

He admits to staying relaxed, maybe too relaxed, in a race, but he feels the pain.

He says he just sort of accepts it. Even embraces it as part of racing.

"You are going to hurt and it is painful," he said. "You have to look past it, and that can be very difficult."

Ultimately he likes to compete. To keep that runner on his shoulder from passing him. Or passing the runner he trails.

"You just have a passion for it — for running," he said. "You want do well. You want to compete. You want to hold on and keep first place."

For all his competitiveness, Peter is quite team oriented. He is a leader and helps his teammates, at times has sacrificed a better performance to help another runner better his time.

His coaches admire him.

And he has enjoyed his years at Swampscott. He says they have been wonderful.

It has been an honor to compete beside classmates including Zach Blonder, Declan McClung and Rob Seymour, he said.

One of Peter's coaches, Joe Tenney, said Peter ran 4 seconds shy of breaking a an Emerging Elite record in New York.

"(It was) an amazing race for him and what he needed as a runner," the coach said.

Peter isn't done running at Swampscott High. He will soon prepare for the outdoor, spring season.

And in the fall he heads off to college, and will be running there, as well.

He has verbally committed to Williams, a Div. III school with a fine cross country program.

There he will continue his distance running pursuit, the thinking man's race.