Cross Country
Favorite athlete: None
Favorite team: Not into following sports other than my own team!
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory was in my sophomore year at the William Tennent Invitational. I was on jayvee at the time, but it was at the end of my race when I was in the last mile and I was in a position to place. I realized this, and I pushed it all the way through to win fourth place in the jayvee race. I ran my fastest time, and it was one of my best races.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: One of my team members lost his shoe in the middle of a race.
Music on iPod: A variety of music from rap to heavy metal. I like all music
Future plans: I want to go to college and major in some type of science. I want to do biomedical engineering as a career or at least something in science
Words to live by: I don’t really have a quote, but I do live with the mindset of work hard and have fun and don’t do anything that can harm your body like drugs/alcohol/smoking. Always live life to the fullest and have very few regrets
One goal before turning 30: I want to have a career and a family. Also, I want to have run a marathon just for the fun of doing something like that.
One thing people don’t know about me: I love the outdoors and playing in the woods on a nice day.
Coach Joe Warwick isn’t a big believer in naming captains.
If he were, the Council Rock South boys’ cross country coach most certainly would give senior Randy Goldfarb the nod to fill that role.
“I found traditionally when you name a kid a captain, they don’t always fill the position,” Warwick said. “He’s our unwritten captain.”
Goldfarb is more than happy to fill the role of leader on a squad that lost the nucleus of last year’s undefeated team to graduation. If it seems as though the senior harrier might be frustrated to be part of a young, rebuilding team, guess again.
“I love it,” he said. “I got to know all the sophomores who were freshmen last year, and I really got along with them. Then in winter and spring track, we grew together and became pretty good friends as a team.
“It’s really a fun thing. When we’re running, I’m always goofing around, trying to keep them positive. (Fellow senior) Chris Starke and I push everyone, the coaches push us. We all help each other out. It’s awesome.”
And it’s that kind of attitude that has turned what could be a frustrating season into a positive experience.
“He’s been dedicated for four years,” Warwick said of Goldfarb. “He’s a hard working kid. When he goes out there, he always gives it his best. You can always count on it.
“We have a very young team this year, and they’re a pleasure to work with. What better year to have somebody like Randy as a leader. I like his style – he’s a class act.”
Goldfarb – despite sore knees – is one of Rock South’s top three runners this season. His story is one of perseverance and determination, and he can still recall his first experience with track in seventh grade.
I did track because my dad always said it was the best thing you could do for your body,” Goldfarb said. “So I did it, but I wasn’t that good – I ran a nine-minute mile.”
That might have deterred some athletes from staying with the sport but not Goldfarb. It simply inspired him to train harder.
“I trained all throughout the summer because I came in last in every race, and I didn’t like it,” he said. “Everyone was cheering me on at the end, and it was like, ‘All right, I know I’m not doing good.’
“By the end of the summer, I was running six miles every day on my treadmill.”
By the time track rolled around the spring of his eighth grade year, Goldfarb had dropped two minutes off his time in the mile.
“I was at a seven-minute mile, and that made me really happy,” he said. “I decided I definitely wanted to improve and do this all throughout high school and get really good at it.”
The summer before ninth grade, Goldfarb trained with Rock South’s cross country team, and he admits it was a bit overwhelming when the season got underway.
“The guys were really good, especially Sean Keefe,” he recalled. “I was running a 23-minute 5K, and he was running 16.”
Although he was not in Keefe’s class, Goldfarb showed promise, and he received positive reinforcement from then coach Joseph Wiegner.
“He thought I was really good starting out as a freshman with just two years of middle school track,” Goldfarb said. “He saw improvement in me.”
Wiegner’s unwavering belief in Goldfarb inspired him to work even harder, and he improved his time by close to four minutes by the end of the year and also joined the winter track team that winter.
By the end of track season that spring, Goldfarb had run a 5:10 mile. He carried that success into his sophomore cross country season, turning in times in the low 18s and 17s. But his sophomore winter and spring track seasons were disappointing.
Goldfarb continued to train with resolute purpose the following summer, but at the beginning of his junior season, Goldfarb began struggling with pain in his knees.
“I got two MRIs – one at the beginning of my junior year and one at the beginning of my senior year,” he said. “It showed no results for any serious injuries.
“I never thought of quitting, but it was kind of upsetting because my sophomore year was so good, and I was excited for an amazing junior year. I did all my summer training, and then August came around and my knees started bothering me.”
The pain has prevented Goldfarb from running on occasions, and it’s still a constant battle. But he has persevered, and he is reveling in his role of leader of the young Golden Hawks.
“When spring track ended, I said, ‘Take your two week break, and we’re going to start running’ – start training hard, motivating everyone so we could be good this year,” he said. “I told the guys, ‘All right, I know we don’t have a lot of crazy good people like last year except for one or two.’”
The Golden Hawks might not be as talented as they have been in the past, but they are every bit as hard working. Goldfarb deserves a lot of credit for that.
“He just loves competing, loves training hard, and he’s a great influence on the underclassmen,” Warwick said. “He’s one of our top three runners.
“Some kids have more talent than him, but he beats them because of his will to win and his preparation.”
Goldfarb – who played intramural basketball in middle school and tried one year of wrestling – spent most of his younger years taking karate lessons. He got his start when he was three years old and went on to compete in tournaments. He also did some kick boxing with his father serving as his coach.
Martial arts faded out of the picture when Goldfarb was in middle school, and running has been his passion since then. He plans to continuing running at some level in college.
“I’m still giving it some thought,” he said. “I probably will run just to get the experience of a college team, and if I like it, then I’ll continue. If it’s too overwhelming – I’ll still continue running.”
Goldfarb also is an excellent student. This year’s his course load includes AP biology, AP calculus and AP physics. Last year he took AP chemistry.
“I love science,” he said.
He is considering majoring in biomedical engineering of bioengineering. He has applied to Drexel and plans to apply to Lehigh as well. He is also considering Penn State, Temple and Pitt.
In his sparetime, Goldfarb volunteers at the Churchville Nature Center and helps out with the festival at Core Creek Park, but it is his time spent with his cross country team that Goldfarb enjoys the most.
“He enjoys being with his teammates,” Warwick said. “As people know, cross country teams are good, positive fraternities. It’s a great group.”
And leading this year’s young group is Goldfarb, the team’s unwritten captain.
