For Olivet Nazarene’s David Olmos, there is more to being a track athlete than putting on a pair of gym shoes and running in circles.
“It’s a life-lesson sport,” Olmos said. “It teaches you so many things. It teaches you the good and the bad, and there’s a lot of joy and a lot of hardships in running.
“I love the camaraderie aspect of running with my teammates and being able to do what you love for two or three hours a day with the boys. It brings out the best in you because it’s more of a mental sport than it is a physical sport. … You have to go to practice or into a race with a good positive mindset.”
Of all the lessons learned through running, Olmos — a senior who is majoring in education — said there is one in particular that stands out to him.
“It’s OK to not reach your goals,” Olmos said. “You can’t be afraid to fail. I know a lot of people want to reach their goals or their PR (personal record) and (hit) a certain time. But with running, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to hit a certain time.
“You can do all the work and all the preparation, you can do all the sleeping and eating right and just all the healthy habits to help you prepare for that. But it doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to hit those times. What I take away from something like that is that all the work you do increases your chance at success, but it doesn’t guarantee success.”
But there are other benefits from doing the work.
“It does guarantee that you’re going to be better than what you were in the past just by having healthy habits and good discipline,” Olmos said. “Overall, it’s helping you be a better person in every aspect of life.”
The 2021 Richards graduate is seeing some tangible rewards, too. He was named Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Men’s Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week for Feb. 2.
During the Cramer Invitational hosted by Olivet Nazarene on Jan. 31, the Oak Lawn resident placed second among 31 runners in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.05.
Olmos also anchored the Tigers’ winning 4×800 relay team, which posted a NAIA “A” standard time of 7:49.71.
“Running in the anchor spot is a pressure spot,” Olmos said. “It’s a big spot, but as long as I believe in myself and my teammates have the trust in me, I’m going to go out and run my heart out for the team. I love the anchor spot.
“We were at nationals last year and we ended up getting fifth. I remember thinking throughout that race that I had to maximize the gifts I’m blessed with and I’m running for the team. I wanted to give my hard work into the race knowing my teammates are doing the same thing. So, running the anchor spot or second leg doesn’t really matter when you know your boys are giving everything they have.”
● Indiana Northwest’s Anthony Taylor was named the CCAC Men’s Defensive Player of the Week in basketball for Jan. 21.
The senior guard averaged 13 points, three blocks, four defensive rebounds and one steal over two games.
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