Two junior runners anchor Sarasota High cross country

Isabelle Jester and Ben Hartvigsen sat on the Sarasota High bleachers, sweating.

Practice had not yet started; stretching had just begun. Yet the Sailors’ vital cross country duo would later attack the afternoon, running five miles in the stifling Sarasota heat. Not before a water break, though. Cross country runners know the importance of hydration.

For Hartvigsen and Jester, both juniors, it was just another day of doing what they love. They understand the looks they get when they explain their passion, though.

"I didn’t start cross country until last year,” Jester said. “I did soccer first, then track, and then I got pulled into this. I kind of didn’t want to do cross country because, who would want to run (this much) for fun? But it’s much better when running in groups. Running by myself is not fun at all.”

Hartvigsen agreed, noting the appeal of the sport's social aspect. He also mentioned truly falling for the sport as a sophomore, a full year after starting his competitive career.

“I can’t imagine not running (now),” he said. “I don’t know, maybe it's some sort of addiction, that ‘runner’s high’ you hear about, but it helps me clear my head and is something I love. Maybe not while I’m doing it, but in retrospect, I always embrace it.”

They both set personal-best times at the North Port Invitational on Sept. 23. Hartvigsen, who represents the Sailors athletically but attends Pine View School, finished in 15:59, walloping his former best time by approximately 50 seconds and giving him second place overall out of 194 runners on the boys’ side. Jester (19:15.30) beat her former time by about 19 seconds, finishing sixth out of 185 girls, but wasn’t completely happy with her performance. She was hoping to break 19 minutes, she said.

She’s never satisfied. She, and Hartvigsen, also share a different trait with the state’s elite runners: They will do anything to compete.

Last fall, the threat from Hurricane Matthew prompted a shutdown of Sarasota County schools — and all county athletic events. On Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, the Sailors were scheduled to race at the FSU XC Invitational in Tallahassee, a key meet leading up to the state championships. The race went on, but with local schools closed, there were no buses available for the ride.

That didn’t stop Jester.  

“We were going to get there, no matter what,” Jester said.

She and teammate Carolina Titus called parents and arranged rides for everyone who wanted to go. It’s still her favorite running memory, and it’s an example of what she and Hartvigsen tell the younger members of their teams.

“You have to have passion and drive in this sport,” Hartvigsen said. “Don’t cut things. You can’t cut or skip things in this sport. You have to work for it.”

Hartvigsen knows this first-hand, too. His freshman season, his first as a runner, he found himself unable to break 19 minutes, no matter what he tried. He could have stopped and tried a different sport, one that is less taxing and offers more immediate gratification. He didn’t. He was patient, and at the first race of his sophomore season, the Bradenton Runners Club XC Invitational at G.T. Bray Park on Sept. 3, 2016, Hartvigsen didn’t just break 19 minutes, he broke 18 minutes, too, finishing in 17:46.40.

“Running by and hearing people screaming in excitement for me, that’s something you can’t replicate,” he said. “Knowing what you're doing is making other people excited and happy is great.”

Thus began a pattern of improving in bursts. He would spend three more races at the top of the 17-18 minute range before running a 16:48.9 at the Class 4A District 8 championships, and as of last week at North Port has done it again.

Though their times never directly help (or hurt) one another’s teams, Hartvigsen and Jester are glad they represent the same school. They and others meet for voluntary long runs on Sunday mornings. (They stress the “voluntary” part.) The boys never get to watch the girls races because of warm-ups, but the girls cheer for their schoolmates anyway. Loudly, Jester notes. It’s nice to see each other do well, they said, and if watching Jester or Hartvigsen beat their personal time by X amount of seconds serves as extra motivation, well, that’s the cherry on the Sailors’ cross country sundae.

“It’s a good feeling,” Hartvisgen said of the mutual support. “It’s reassuring to know the team is going to be strong on both sides.”