Former Notre Dame Track & Field Star, Molly Huddle

Wednesday reading ...

Today, December 22nd, I will share a snippet from Chapter 22 of "Triumphs From Notre Dame" – former Notre Dame track & field runner, Molly Huddle. Molly shared with me how her time at Notre Dame prepared her to move on and be successful at the professional level.

In addition to having academic support through tutoring and study groups, it is also important to have support and guidance from your coaches, to provide you with the necessary tools to be athletically successful at the collegiate level. A good coach should not only elevate your skills in order to grow you and make you more successful at every step of your journey; they should also mentor you and advance your personal development as well. They should push you to your limits, let you fail some of the time, and be the safety net that shows you how to pick yourself up and propel you even further on your next try.

“Coach (Tim) Connelly was a father figure to a lot of us. He would give us good advice, and he had very high standards; he wanted us to get A’s in our classes. I remember the head coach (Joe Piane) was a little more lenient with the team as far as grades went, but Coach Connelly wanted both for us. He wanted the best for us in our running careers, and in our academics as well. He brought us along pretty conservatively. One of the things I did in college that was new to me was strength training in the weight room, along with injury prevention training and drills before practice. He was pretty adamant as far as our participation in that for injury prevention. He was very detail oriented, and introduced that new facet of training to us, as he wanted to make sure we were well rounded athletes, which he believed would make us better runners. I have taken that with me into my professional running career. It was great to have that background as I transitioned into running at the professional level, to know your way around the weight room. Coach Connelly was passionate about running, but he also made it a fun experience for us. You could tell he really enjoyed his job, and enjoyed our successes along with us.”

Whether you are able to achieve great success at the collegiate level or not, there are always a few memories from your career that stand out from the rest. Molly was one of the lucky ones who was able to achieve a fair amount of success at the collegiate level, and shared with me some of her fondest memories from her time at Notre Dame.

“Competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships my freshman year was hands down one of my favorite memories from my time at Notre Dame. As a freshman who had never competed at that level before, it was surprisingly fun, and just an all-around good day. I remember the race, and I had rarely felt that good in a race up to that point. I finished 5th, which was very good for a freshman, and our team finished in third, which was such a surprise to all of us. Everyone was just in a really good mood, which absolutely set the tone for that fall. The championships were a great way to cap off my freshman year, and I had made some outstanding friends that year. Stephanie Madia, Lauren King, the other Lauren King and I were all in the top seven; and it was so fun hanging out with them all year and traveling to races. The championships were such a memorable moment because they were such a bright, happy way to wrap up our freshmen season; I definitely like to think back on that season. I still keep in touch with Stephanie and Lauren, as well as some of the guys who ran with my husband (Kurt Benninger), who was a year behind me.”

Cheers & GO IRISH!!

For more of Molly's chapter, pick up your copy of "Triumphs From Notre Dame." www.EchoesFromNotreDameBooks.com