DISHS senior Brendan Penfold raced to two first-place finishes at the Hancock County Championships May 18 in Bucksport. By Monique Labbe
Deer Isle—Ever since he started high school, Brendan Penfold has been running. He became a dominating cross-country runner in his senior year. He has also run along with the George Stevens track team as a team of one. He has done this for three years, but he is standing out this year, placing first in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter race at the Hancock County Championship in Bucksport last Friday in a couple of close finishes. His time was close to his best times last year and he is working on getting them down for the State Championship race.
In Waterboro on June 2, he finished fourth in the 3,200 meter race at 10:31—missing third by one second—and ran a 4:41 in the 1,600 meter race for fifth place, barely 0.2 short of finishing fourth.
Running cross-country and track use very different strategies and in very different conditions. Brendan enjoys the cross country most, especially knowing the way the courses differ by the hills and turns. The track running can be more intense, especially the shorter races, and require knowing which lap to push ahead on. The surface is more consistent, and it means a different recovery procedure as well. Though he usually runs just two races in a meet, Brendan has run three (adding the 800m) at times.
He runs as a one-man team in competition, but Brendan can practice with the George Stevens team. He enjoys the benefits of being with a team, especially the guidance of George Stevens coach Erich Reed. He feels the advice on technique and strategy has been very helpful to him. He also likes the camaraderie and competition in practice with the other runners and it helps push him to run harder. He still puts in a lot of miles on the roads in Deer Isle to keep in top condition.
Beyond his goal of getting to the New England Championship race this year, Brendan is set to enter Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania this fall. He looks forward to three seasons of running there with cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and outdoor track in the spring. As if that isn’t enough, he is thinking of running some of the road races in the summer. That would be taking “life on the run” to a whole other level.