By Blake Chadwick

Since getting into cross country in her eighth-grade year, Abilene senior Eden Bathurst has slowly transitioned into one of the best runners in the whole state. 

In her ascend to the top, the senior has stayed true to staying on pace and finishing strong. Bathurst would instead sneak up on runners in front of her and pass them at the end. 

“I honestly prefer to come from behind because leading means you have no idea what is going on behind you, and anybody could pull ahead of you at any moment,” Bathurst said. “I also would rather not feel gassed the whole entire race so I don’t push it at the beginning. I just run my pace and give it all I’ve got at the end. Where I start is hardly ever where I end up placing, so I don’t put pressure on myself to be in the front.” 

Despite being pretty successful especially here of late for Bathurst, her confidence hasn’t always been to where it is today. 

“I haven’t always been the most confident runner, and I still may not be, but I trust my training, and I trust my race plan,” Bathurst said. “I really enjoy strategizing and planning my runs so I can peak at the very end of the season and avoid injuries throughout the year.” 

The senior has developed a scheme that has helped her run her best races whenever she is called upon. 

“I may not be at the top of the leaderboard for the majority of the season, but I just keep cutting time each week so I can show up and run my best race at state,” Bathurst said. “I’m not a freak athlete who has always been crazy fast, but I have worked my way up over time, so I think it helps me to know that I’ve worked for every opportunity and should never take any race for granted.”