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Day after day, Nick Pikul takes off on a run he hopes will help lead him and his Holy Redeemer cross country teammates to the top.
He keeps those legs churning and churning, like a running back in football — without the resistence but the same amount of willpower and for much longer time periods — until he has covered around 55 miles each week.
That’s the equivalent of two marathons.
Some of the younger and lesser-experienced members of the Royals will cover 30 to 35 miles in their practice runs.
That’ll get you to Scranton if you start at Kirby Park.
Sometimes, for many of them, it feels like a run to nowhere.
“I don’t think a lot of my peers in school appreciate it,” Pikul said.
“Or how hard it is,” added Chris Hine, another big-time runner at Redeemer.
Hard?
How about winning a District 2 title, posing proudly on the PIAA medal stand and then getting overlooked when you should be looked at like a king?
“I don’t know if people even realize we finished fourth in the state last year,” Pikul said.
Those that do seem to believe pure talent was enough to trigger a special season. They don’t understand all the effort it takes to get there, all the miles that nobody sees.
“Everybody runs in a sport they’ve done — mostly for punishment,” Holy Redeemer cross country coach Nick Capaci said. “I don’t even think their parents realize how much time is put into it to get to that next level that makes you successful in the district.”
All in the hopes of finding enough time to shine.
Redeemer’s runners are right on course again to defend their district crown, beating Berwick and Northwest in a cluster meet Wednesday at Kirby Park to run their season record to 5-0 in both boys and girls races to remain at the top of the Wyoming Valley Conference standings.
Star distance runners from that district title team and ensuing state success, like Nick Capaci’s son Dominic and Lukas Volpetti, have graduated from the team.
“We had seven boys graduate las year,” Nick Capaci said, “and among our 10 top runners, we lost eight.”
But guys like Hine and Pikul are back, and so is the mindset that the Royals can climb the mountain once again.
“Of course it’s on our minds,” Hine said. “We had a lot of new runners come up, they’re going to be in a different role. At the beginning of the season, we’re not at our full peak yet. We don’t really push these (league) meets super-hard. We treat these as almost like practice laps.”
All that practicing can lead a runner right into danger.
A few months ago, Hine developed runners knee — severe pain around the kneecap — and was forced to sit for awhile. Which, of course, was even more painful than the knee problem itself.
“It started at the beginning of July,” Hine said. “I was out for a long period of time, it was a long month and a half. It was frustrating. I’m slowly getting back to that level.”
It’s a level they all keep chasing until it is within reach.
Early-morning runs.
After-school runs.
Regular-season runs.
On and on they go, for miles and miles, steadily striding along as they strive for personal satisfaction rather than a general recognition that may never come.
“People think it’s all natural,” Pikul said, “people think we’re good because we’re born this way.”
Not hardly.
Off in the distance, they can see the glimmer of a district gold medal, the thrill of a state medal stand or simply, the pure delight or personal improvement.
That’s their reward for endless hours of pushing themselves through the sounds of silence.