By Alex Frazier
Most young girls grow up playing soccer, basketball or softball.
Not Jenny Guidera.
When the Central Bucks East junior arrived in high school, she had already done karate for eight years.
Attuned to individual sports, she decided to try cross country.
“I didn’t know if I’d really like it or if I’d be good,” she said. “Freshman year I fell in love with it. I liked the whole experience because you’re competing on an individual level and also on a team level. It’s pretty cool. And also because it was in high school and not outside (like karate). I could see my friends in school and we have practice everyday, so we’re close.”
The individual aspect of cross country was particularly appealing to her.
“It’s unlike any other sport,” she said. “It’s so demanding physically and mentally. You have to put so much dedication in, but you get so many rewards back.
“It influences how I do in school and helps me overcome other obstacles. If I have a good race or good season, I know I can achieve anything I want.”
Guidera was successful right from the beginning.
As a freshman, she clocked a PR of 20:04 and was named the team’s Most Valuable Runner after No. 1 Kate Ross injured herself.
“Right from the start she was top two on the team,” said coach Matt Catinella.
That year she also committed to indoor and spring track, sealing her fate as a dedicated runner and relegating karate to her past history.
“I liked it (karate) a lot,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I still did it and wasn’t so dedicated to track. But I can’t do both of them. Track is so demanding.”
At first she was reluctant to do indoor and outdoor track, but in retrospect she realized it helped her running.
She credits Catinella with her success as a runner.
“My coach’s training helps a lot,” she said. “If I had a different coach, I probably wouldn’t be sticking with it. He makes it really enjoyable. He does a lot of threshold training. He understands the science behind what we do, and he always has a reason for every workout, which is pretty cool.”
“She’s a very intelligent runner,” said Catinella. “She’s always interested in why we’re doing the things we’re doing training-wise.”
As a sophomore Guidera finished seventh in the Continental Conference (19:08) and 22nd at districts, where she set her PR of 19:01 and qualified for states. At the tough Hershey course, she finished 49th.
“I wanted to a little bit better,” she said. “I expected my time to be lower, but the course is so hilly. Overall it was a taxing race, and you had to compete against all those amazing runners. It was a first for me to have competition at that high of a level.”
After the race Catinella told her, “Think about next year. Next year you’re going to do better.”
That gave her motivation to train harder over the rest of the year and during the summer.
“She’s focused,” said Catinella. “She’s one of those types of runners that I can tell her to do something on her own, and I know it’s going to be done.”
In the indoor season, she ran as part of the distance medley relay team, which placed fifth at states.
Although she qualified for districts in the 3,200, spring track wasn’t as rewarding, perhaps because running around in circles wasn’t too stimulating for her. Her PR in the mile, which she preferred over the two-mile, was 5:19.
“That season motivated me this year,” she said. “It was my main motivator to do well this year. In spring I had so much stress with school work. It piled up and my season was terrible.”
Cross country ranks a strong first among her running sports.
“Everything about it, the weather, how everyone runs the same race, I love the season in general,” she said.
Guidera is also a team captain this year.
“She’s very team oriented,” said Catinella. “She seems to be equally concerned how her teammates are doing progression-wise as she is about how much she’s improved. She’s doing a pretty nice job at it. She’s a good leader. She doesn’t say a whole lot, but she’ll say the right things and always does the right things. She’ll do the extra things on the weekends. She takes her training very seriously.”
This season, Guidera is looking forward to the post-season.
“It’s always been in the back of my head this season to medal at states,” she said.
She’s already clocked a 19:09, which is close to where she was at the end of last season.
“I have every reason to believe she can run in the 18s this year,” said Catinella.
“My times have been dropping,” she said. “It’s definitely the training that’s helping them drop.”
Training is a bit different this year. Instead of running a lot of invitationals, the East runners are spending more time training than racing.
“I really believe it,” said Guidera. “In the spring, we had so many dual meets that I burned out early in the season. Running fewer meets we don’t get mentally overwhelmed.”
Although Guidera likes to race, she doesn’t mind a lot of training.
“I really love the training runs, especially the 60 or hour and 20 minute runs,” she said. “I have time to think and my mind can open up. It’s a big stress reliever. I feel so in tune with my body when I’m on those runs.”
She’s also had some competition on her own team this year from Katie Kinkead. The two have been 1-2 at the C.B. East Invitational and the tri-meet against C.B. West and Quakertown.
Guidera has been as successful in the classroom as she has been running. She is ranked 10th in a class of about 300, and is hoping to go to Yale.
“Maybe I’ll run for them,” she said.
A well-rounded scholar, she takes four advanced placement courses in physics, calculus, European history and English.
“I really enjoy it all,” she said. “It sounds pretty geeky.”
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