Aja Davis finished warming up for the 200-meter dash and softly walked to the edge of the Manley Field House track on Feb. 7. At the beginning of practice, Davis appeared calm. That’s how she wants to be, she said, because her demeanor sometimes interferes with her technique. 

“I get a little aggressive,” Davis said, “and it gets hard running the race.”

Davis isn’t the only runner focusing on combining technique and a clear headspace. Her teammate Eunice Boateng, who competes in similar events, said being the “chill teammate” sets the tone for grueling seasons. Sprinters coach Dave Hegland said he’s seen “nice improvement” in both runners as the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Indoor Championships draw near. 

Even on a university-declared snow day, the Orange practiced. Boateng credits her teammates’ positivity in helping her persevere through difficult seasons.

“Once you have that positive mindset, that’s when it starts to unroll,” Boateng said. “It’s worth it, and you learn to become mentally strong and go through with everything.”

Prior to races, the team runs through a pre-race routine to find their rhythm. Three days out from a race, the team will run their final “high quality” workout. Then, they take the following day off to rest and recover. The day before a race is a light day — also called a pre-meet day — that includes mock block starts, accelerations and 20-meter fly’s. Davis said pre-meet days get runners “in the mindset of competitiveness.” 

At the Harvard Crimson Elite on Jan. 31, Davis finished the 60-meter dash at 7.50 seconds to become the top collegiate finisher in the event. Davis clocked in her collegiate-best (7.43) in the prelims. Just over a month before that, Davis ran that same race six-tenths of a second slower. 

Still, Davis said she needs to improve her running mechanics. Sometimes, her competitiveness can lead to a chaotic race technique.

“I just focused on what my coach said during the race,” Davis said. “Practicing a lot of things like working my arms and turning over my legs to execute it throughout the race.”

Every runner has the athletic talent to perform at the Division I level, Boateng said, and needs to not only focus on technique, but also the mental aspect. For Boateng, positivity starts when she wakes up, eats breakfast, drinks a protein shake, goes to the trainers and gets to practice early. 

Boateng followed Davis in the 60-meter sprint at the Harvard Crimson Elite, clocking in a time of 7.64 in both the prelims and the finals, coming in fifth place in her heat in the latter. 

With ACCs in mind, Boateng wants to be in a “good mental space” and give 100% effort every practice. Boateng and Davis have two more chances to compete — meets in Boston and Washington — before ACCs begin on Feb. 27. Until then, they need to lock down their techniques and remain positive.

“Once I do get (to ACCs),” Boateng said. “I want to know I’ve prepared myself well and gave my all before I got there so that is really a representation of who I am and what I can do, and not just a wasted rep.”

Published on February 9, 2020 at 10:47 pm

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