Blix Finn ran her first 5k when she was eight years old. After that, they just kept coming: the Turkey Trot, Holiday Hustle, Shamrock and Shenanigans, each one with her family and neighbor by her side. For Finn, running isn’t just a part of her identity; it defines those around her as well.
Joining the cross-country team in seventh grade felt like a no-brainer, given Finn’s brother’s involvement with the Skyline High School (SHS) team and her mom’s avid running background. Her marathon-running neighbor, in his eighties, has also served as a role model as she ventured into running.
“I consider him almost like a grandfather figure,” Finn said. “My family and him just kind of did all those races until it became a thing.”
Finn attended Ann Arbor Open, where she officially began her running career. Now, as a freshman at Community High School, she runs for the SHS cross-country team. Finn debuted her season at the Lamplighter invite — a race for the team’s top ten runners, with her being the only freshman given a slot. For Finn, this brought an extra level of nerves when it came time to race.
“There was definitely a little bit of imposter syndrome running on varsity,” Finn said. “I’m proud to be running, but I know I can run better than what I do in the meets. And I think it’s just about getting in the right headspace.”
Finn finds running to be difficult in more ways than one; not only is running physically taxing, but it also requires significant mental toughness. Recognizing that her mind will give up before her body, she understands that being a successful athlete means pushing past that barrier of discomfort.
“I feel like everyone kind of is enduring the same hardness, physically,” Finn said. “And it’s more about who can mentally tell themselves that it’s an okay feeling.”
Finn finds that if she looks at the clock during the day and counts down 22 minutes—the time of her 5K—she realizes that it’s not that much time, only a small part of her day. This mental trick came from her mom, who taught her some ways to cope with her running anxiety.
“My mom said something that kind of stuck with me,” Finn said. “‘It’s less than 24 minutes of running. So why are you spending 24 hours on it?’ Like, why are you trying to dwell on it?’”
Overall, the transition from middle school to high school athletics has been a positive experience for Finn, as she recognizes the intentional actions she’s taking to make herself a better athlete.
“When I was running in middle school, our coach would tell us to go run a mile, and we’d just be surrounded by a bunch of cocky middle school boys, and I’d feel this pressure to try and beat them,” Finn said. “And I would always overwork myself every practice and just run a really hard mile and almost throw up at the end.”
Contrasting the effort put into her seventh-grade sport, Finn finds that while she’s working harder this season, building up her training over the summer with deliberate practice has significantly improved her performance as a runner. And a feat like running seven miles, which she hadn’t considered before training, is now a fun activity she can complete with friends by her side.
