Mason Mullen, decorated runner for Berkeley High’s Track and Cross Country teams, is now locking up. He’s putting the finishing touches on a successful and storied four years, eight total seasons in which he has been witness to a subtle tone shift across the team. In the past, he attests, “the biggest thing we did wrong was training max effort most of the time,” or “just going all out on the runs.” This, contrary to popular belief, is actually a detriment to improvement, leading to overworked muscles, fatigued bodies, and, most severely, injury. I approached a few BHS Cross Country alumni with this theory, to which they responded, “Yeah, I guess my issue was that I had too much work ethic, I was too talented, and I could run too fast,” though rather sarcastically.
Running looks like a very solitary sport. There’s something attractive about that too; the sun-backlit striver, rising early in the morning to make their way up the indomitable hill again. In truth, Mason attests that the success of the team, their landmark girl’s team victory at NCS, and their burgeoning potential, are all owed to the community that has been created, and it’s clear that Mason is leading that charge. The Juniors are inspired by him; “waking up early, running in the trails, grinding high mileage,” and that community will be the key to their success; “everyone is motivated by the hard work their teammates put in.” When asked about the brightest prospects, Mason subverted the question, and instead gave us a list of the team members who “will see surprising improvement.” This improvement based mindset is evidently a key feature of the team, as Mason makes constant reference to “working hard,” and “grinding.” The latter is often followed with an obligatory “pause.” Mason’s list of names can be found below.
Underclassmen: Luca Small, Ryan Morello, Carina Nottingham, Molly Birbach.
Upperclassmen (Juniors): Preston Mullen, Ariel Kehat, Alejandro Emmanuel Vasquez Acosta, Gracie Koch, Maddie Bramwell.
The length of this list, save the nepotism-soaked inclusion of Mason’s brother Preston, is a testament to: Mason’s commitment to the community of the team, their prospective success, and the power of the community itself.
Despite their bottomless passion, the Juniors are not making the same mistake as the Seniors of last year. Their training regimen consists of “slow hours;” steadily increasing mileage, running slower, and less intensity. Over the last week, the runners Mason named have logged an average of 44.4 miles, not counting other sports or exercise. The network of dedicated runners has facilitated the righting of the wrongs, healing from the mistakes that last year’s Seniors made.
Somehow, Mason really enjoys running. Those are also the ideals he intends to instill: enjoying the process, training with people who also love it, letting the success follow from the joy. “If you only focus on the outcome there is no joy in the process.” These lessons are applicable to life too. Too often, we work ourselves too hard, aim too high, and when things get difficult, we try to push through. Take advice from Mason’s Strava: “Hills aren’t that bad if you go slow.”
The Seniors of last year were driven by a fire, a burning ambition to improve. The Seniors of next year are inundated with passion by their old-guard mentor. The coming years of BHS Track and Cross Country are bright, brighter than ever before.