A love of running consumes Southside junior distance runner Abigail Harding

Abigail Harding is familiar running countless miles around the track at Southside High’s Jim Rowland Stadium. Her knowledge of the track definitely paid off on April 24, when the Southside junior competed at the school’s annual hosting of the McDonald’s Relays.

There, Harding – who primarily runs distance events for the Mavericks – got her personal best time, running a 5:24.24 in the 1,600-meter run, finishing seventh. She also finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:13.84, and was part of the 3,200-meter relay squad which placed second (10:32.74).

But afterward, Harding was proud of her personal-best time in the mile run.

“I really like the mile the most; it’s always been my favorite, ever since I started running,” Harding said. “And it’s my favorite because it’s quick, but still endurance, and it’s just so fun. It’s so fun.”

Harding said she had a solid approach going into the event.

“I think (getting her personal best was because of) the race plan I had going into it,” she said. “In the past couple of days, I’ve really been visualizing the race, and so I’ve run the race a million times in my head already, so just getting out there and executing it like I had in my head, and just preparing that positive mindset, and hyping myself up has really helped.”

Not to mention the advantage of being at a track she knows quite well.

“I come out here and run all the time,” Harding said. “Any weather, I come here at 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., so it’s really, really nice that I get to have this track near my home.”

She also was satisfied with her overall performance at the McDonald’s Relays. Running has been an obsession for Harding from an early age.

“I started running when I was 8 years old,” she said. “Actually my dad, he also did marathons and half-marathons, so when he started training for a triathlon, I went on a run with him one day and I loved it.

There are quite a few things, including life lessons of “patience and endurance,” Harding has attained from her love of running. But last spring, Harding was dealing with a foot injury, which affected most of her track season.

“I had tendon issues in my foot, so it was just a lot of physical therapy and time on the bike, but I’m so grateful to be healthy and running this season. … I do have little Achilles pain right now, but we got it taped up, and it really helped for the mile I ran (at the McDonald’s Relays),” she said.

Harding was able to run cross country last fall, and achieved her personal best time of 19:48. Then this spring, she won several events, both individual and relay events. Along with recovering from her foot injury, Harding made a few other changes to her running lifestyle.

“This year, I’ve really, really worked on making progress off the track, so eating healthier, drinking more water, and I’ve really, really honed down on my sleep,” she said. “So not to brag, but my daily average is eight and a half hours of sleep each night. So I’ve really, really noticed the difference.”

Harding hopes to be able to run cross country and track at the collegiate level. She’s also focused on academics. She carries a weighted grade-point average around 4.0 and is taking five Advanced Placement classes.

As the state meet approaches later in May, Harding is determined to run a 5:20 or below in the mile and go for a personal-best in the two-mile run. But regardless of her times, she is just glad to be back on the track running once again.

“I just get so much personal fulfillment from it, and it just makes me so happy, and I’m so blessed to do it,” Harding said. “Just the satisfaction and the fulfillment I get from it, it’s like nothing else like it.”