Shout out to Lila Goldberg who is our September Athlete of the Month! She's just in 8th grade in the Austin metro and she's already competing against high schoolers...WOW! Lila recently just placed 2nd at the Austin Speedster's XC Classic this past month in a high school division with a 2 mile time of 13:13. She is the future of the sport! Way to go Lila!
"My name is Lila Goldberg, and I am a track and cross country distance runner for the Austin Speedsters club. I’m also in 8th grade at NYOS charter school. Outside of running, I play soccer and participate in my school's theater program. In my free time, I like hanging out with my friends and little brother. This season my coach, David Reisman, has me racing in varsity meets. Last year I started racing in the high school division with some of my other middle school teammates for more competition. It’s harder, and I can't win every race anymore. I actually got second at my last race, and my team placed first! It's easy to get lost in the competition, worrying about burning out, getting passed, or wondering when to kick. But in the end, running is just one foot in front of the other. My biggest accomplishment was probably competing in the USATF track championships this past summer. Qualifying for Nationals in the 3000m was really awesome, but the real win was committing to competition and watching the results of my hard work come together. During my 7th grade year, I struggled a lot with confidence, on and off the track. It was affecting my running a lot, I was extra stressed out during a race, and I couldn’t get out of my head. My form was off because I was always getting mad at myself. It was during the regionals race that summer that I ran like my old self. I don’t know how it happened, but I am glad that it did. Running is everything to me: I can clear my head and build friendships with my teammates. I don't know what I would do without my sport!"
"My name is Lila Goldberg, and I am a track and cross country distance runner for the Austin Speedsters club. I’m also in 8th grade at NYOS charter school.
Outside of running, I play soccer and participate in my school's theater program. In my free time, I like hanging out with my friends and little brother. This season my coach, David Reisman, has me racing in varsity meets.
Last year I started racing in the high school division with some of my other middle school teammates for more competition. It’s harder, and I can't win every race anymore. I actually got second at my last race, and my team placed first! It's easy to get lost in the competition, worrying about burning out, getting passed, or wondering when to kick. But in the end, running is just one foot in front of the other.
My biggest accomplishment was probably competing in the USATF track championships this past summer. Qualifying for Nationals in the 3000m was really awesome, but the real win was committing to competition and watching the results of my hard work come together.
During my 7th grade year, I struggled a lot with confidence, on and off the track. It was affecting my running a lot, I was extra stressed out during a race, and I couldn’t get out of my head. My form was off because I was always getting mad at myself. It was during the regionals race that summer that I ran like my old self. I don’t know how it happened, but I am glad that it did.
Running is everything to me: I can clear my head and build friendships with my teammates. I don't know what I would do without my sport!"