At Chantilly High School on April 27, senior Easy Weissman achieved what he had been dreaming of since he began running track for Sidwell: breaking Sidwell’s 3200 record.
After running a 9:30.37 at the Cassel’s XBC Experience, Weissman broke the previous record of 9:31.55 set by John McGowan ’10.
“I kind of think it’s a bit funny that I broke the record, because I really was not thinking about it too much before the race,” Weissman admitted.
“I have a habit of overthinking things, so I just kind of told myself that I wanted to win the race, rather than try to run for a time,” he added.
Going into the race, Weissman’s strategy was to let his competitors set the pace up front and “just stare at their backs.” At the mile mark, the clock was 4:45, which was exactly on pace for the school record. For Weissman, that was the first time he “really thought about maybe breaking it.”
Even as fatigue set in after lap five of eight, Weissman was able to push through by telling himself that “it was just a few more minutes of pain.” According to TKTK, his motivation was also aided by the Sidwell coaches yelling that he was hitting his target pace.
“The guy right in front of me was also going for his school record, so his coach kept yelling at him about staying with the pack to break whatever record he was going for,” Weissman recalled. “I thought that was really funny, and that coach inadvertently reminded me of what I could do.”
By the time it came down to the final lap, Weissman needed to run a 70-second final lap to break the record. He began picking up his pace with around 300 meters left.
“I just had to put every last bit of energy into the race,” Weissman explained. “[I] just told myself that I would rather destroy my body and be unable to finish than not get the record after all the work I had already put in.”
Weissman remembered feeling both excited and exhausted as he crossed the finish line, staying “splayed out on the ground” even as the coaches came over with the official time and the good news.
“I’ve wanted to break this record since I started running track because it was the most doable, and now that I did break it, it feels great,” he said.
Originally only running for Sidwell’s Cross Country team, Weissman joined the Outdoor Track Program his junior year.
When asked about his motivation for running, Weissman gave three main reasons.
“I really love running, and have loved running since I was a little kid,” Weissman said, citing his passion for the sport as a key factor in his consistent motivation.
Weissman believes that he “learned to love the very specific kind of pain that I think really only comes from high intensity endurance sports.” He describes the sensation as a sort of “being in the zone,” and adds that it is “empowering to feel like you can overcome intense pain.”
In addition, the dopamine that running releases often leaves Weissman “really happy and satisfied” after finishing “a really hard effort successfully.”
Weissman cited Northern Arizona University long-distance runner Nico Young as one of his personal heroes. He admires Young’s ability to carry his success from high school into college and his humble nature.
Weissman also mentioned his former teammates Micah Lachman ’21 and Flynn McGrath ’22, who challenged him as a runner and supported him throughout his high school career, showing him“how fun running can be and how fast [he] could be.”
Adding to his list of accolades, Weissman placed first in the 3200 meters at the MAC Championships on May 11. Sidwell placed second overall.
As a senior, Weissman will soon be graduating to compete at the next level at Wesleyan University. He feels like the future of the track team is in good hands because “there are some very speedy [freshmen] and [sophomores], and records are there to be broken.”
