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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Trail blazing: Alumnus writes, runs and reflects Alex Gurski

Staff Reporter

’Stoga alumna and life-long athlete Megan Roche tells the story of her trail-running lifestyle in her first book, “The Happy Runner.”

With the mission of spreading a running philosophy and psychology, Roche worked alongside her husband David to write a running book hoping to reveal the secrets and beauty of running. “We included things such as the power of embracing the

running process, understanding why you run, and harnessing kindness and enthusiasm for running performance,” Roche said. Roche had only nine months to write the book. “Our situation was unique because we had a very short

Courtesy Megan Roche

On the trail: 'Stoga alumna Megan Roche performs one of her favorite hobbies, trail running. She first got involved with running during her time on the Conestoga track team and continued to pursue her passion at Duke and Stanford. Roche's new book "The Happy Runner" on balancing the effort and the joy in running is set to release on Nov. 15.

period of time to get our book finished,” Roche said. “This was due to publishing constraints and our own time constraints. In some sense this helped because we had to get words down on paper, so we embraced a ‘don’t think, just write’ philosophy and then did heavy editing from there.” The book promotes learning to love running, instead of thinking about it as a chore. The book tells the stories of professional athletes who have personal breakthroughs as they learn to enjoy the process of running. It also teaches people how to stay healthy with proven training methods. An athlete from the age of four, fitness has always consumed Roche’s life. She played field hockey for Conestoga from 2004 to 2008, and during that time discovered her love for running. “Whenever we had wind sprints at the end of practice, I got excited to challenge myself,” Roche said. “I started entering some local races and ran the 4 x 800 and the mile for Conestoga track when meets did not conflict with field hockey.” Despite her passion for running, Roche chose to focus on field hockey in high school and college. “With (my) late start, I avoided burnout and let my body develop and get strong before starting to (gain) more mileage,” Roche said. Roche graduated from Conestoga in 2008 and went on to attend Duke University, where she played field hockey and participated in coordinated runs. After her years at Duke, Roche studied medicine at Stanford. She followed through with

Courtesy Megan Roche

Leading the pack: Sprinting after the ball, Megan Roche plays field hockey for the Conestoga girls' varsity team. Roche went on to attend Duke University where she continued to compete on the field. running during her years at medical school, using it as a way to keep her grounded during the chaotic application process. “By having things in my life outside of medicine, I was able to avoid engaging in the competitive pre-medical culture and I think that enabled me to keep a genuine love of learning and passion for medicine.” Roche hopes that her book “The Happy Runner” will inspire other runners to achieve

their personal best, and to embrace the positives and negatives of their runs. Her advice for Conestoga students looking to pursue their passions in the future is to do what brings them joy. “You will make the most difference in the world doing what makes you happy and so it’s important to listen to your heart as opposed to defaulting to a conventional or prestigious path," Roche said.

Deathly shallows of the Schuylkill cramps crew's cruisin'

Emma Clarke/The SPOKE

Roll in two, that's one, two!: The 'Stoga girls quad prepares to put their boat in the water for practice at Bachelor's Barge Boathouse on the Schuylkill River. The water level of the river has steadily decreased due to sediment buildup. However, there are currently no plans to move this year's Stotesbury Cup Regatta from the Schuylkill River.

Emma Clarke

Business Manager

Throughout practices and races, ’Stoga rowers typically focus on what they’re doing on the water, not what is going on underneath it. Underneath the home of the

'Stoga rowers, the Schuylkill River, there lies a century of sediment buildup, causing low water levels and having negative effects on practices and races, senior Brenton Molsbergen said. “Whenever we launch our boats out into the river, it seems like there are two inches of water.

Commitment Corner School: University of Florida Grade: 11th Sport: Lacrosse

Why University of Florida?

“It was the perfect combination of academics and athletics at a large state school which I knew I always wanted. Plus the weather helps.”

Our blades (of the oars) are hitting the dirt,” Molsbergen said. Molsbergen’s experience is one that has been years in the making. The cumulative sediment levels in the Schuylkill have caused more problems for Philadelphia rowers year after year. According to Commodore Paul Horvat of the Schuylkill Navy, an association of the rowing clubs of Philadelphia, in 2000, the water level surrounding Boathouse Row was 8 feet, but in 2017, with the sediment build-up, the water was about a foot deep. However, action to dredge, or remove sediment from the river, has not been taken.

The Philadelphia Rowing Association has been trying to receive funding from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the river since 2014, but the Corps rejected funding the estimated $3 million dollar project. This past summer, the Schuylkill Navy asked University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Temple University, St. Joe’s University, La Salle University and Jefferson University to fund the dredging instead, since these universities have rowing teams that use the Schuylkill to practice and race. No action has been taken, ac-

cording to Laskow, chair of the River Restoration Committee of the Schuylkill Navy. This past year, the Stotesbury Regatta was moved to the nearby Cooper River for better water-level conditions. However, junior Maggie Gosnear saw this change as creating worse conditions in other aspects of the regatta. “Stotesbury is huge and there was not enough space for the boat trailers to go at the Cooper River. It was super congested,” Gosnear said. ’Stoga rowers may have to find new territory to row in if this issue escalates, according to Bonnie Mueller, secretary

of the Schuylkill Navy, but they would not be the only ones affected. The collegiate rowing teams would lose their homes as well would the economy of Philadelphia be damaged due to lack of rowing competitions on the Schuylkill, which bring in $25 million each year, according to Laskow. Laskow sees a loss of tradition and treasure if the teams of Boathouse Row are no longer able to use the Schuylkill. “The pretty lights might be on the outside but there’ll be no lights on in the inside because there won’t be any rowing,” Laskow said.

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