Senior Track Standout Lends Talent to Cross Country Team
Written By: Kate Reilly
Senior Rose Ciriello made her collegiate cross country debut this season after three years as a strictly middle distance runner on the Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team. During her first season, Ciriello quickly became a strong contributor, traveling with the team to top meets and made the highly selective roster for the NCAA Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Transitioning to the higher mileage of a cross country runner, Ciriello found that support from her cross country teammates made her success possible.
"Originally, I decided to do cross country because I thought it would be fun to try endurance training, as opposed to the more speed focused work I do in the fall," said Ciriello. Although Ciriello had competed in cross country during her junior and senior years of high school, she focused on the 800 meters in college up until this season. "I was excited to train with such a strong team, and to get to know teammates I don't see as much during track season," she said.
"I fully expected Rose to be in a position to contribute to the team," said head coach Tim Connelly, "From watching her on the track the previous two years, I knew that she was a good athlete, and a good competitor, so I had no doubt she could be a contributor if she could stay healthy." Scoring two top-five all time performances in Carnegie Mellon history in the 800 meters her freshman year, Ciriello has always been a significant contributor on the track.
In addition to the transition from racing a half mile to the 6k, running cross country required Ciriello to significantly increase her weekly training mileage. "The most difficult part for me was preseason training over the summer, where I was building up to higher mileage than I've done in the past without teammates nearby," said Ciriello. She ran many of these summer miles in Kansas City, where she interned at Garmin as a user experience designer. "Once everyone got back to school, it became a lot easier for me to work with other people and feel good about the new longer training," she added.
"One of the things I really enjoyed about this season that I hadn't had before was the tight pack of teammates to run with every day and help push each other," said Ciriello. Prior to her graduation in May of 2018, Ciriello's long-time training partner and fellow middle-distance runner, Sarah Cook, had pushed Ciriello in speed work throughout the fall and spring. Among a cross country team of 24 women, Ciriello quickly adapted to running in a pack over longer intervals.
"The most important thing that we focused on in planning Ciriello's training was emphasizing consistency," said Coach Connelly. Knowing her previous training, he created a challenging schedule that also kept her from stepping up mileage too quickly. "Obviously her mileage was higher than in her past, but we didn't want to overdo it and push the limit. To me, being able to run a reasonable amount of mileage over a significant amount of time is the key to improving," he added.
"Being able to enjoy longer and longer runs without getting too worn out is pretty great. There's also a strong, in-control feeling when getting into a groove running longer intervals that I learned to love throughout the season," said Ciriello. As the team shifted toward speed focused workouts at the end of the season, Ciriello was able to push the women towards faster intervals which translated into competitive races. "I wasn't happy with every race I ran this season, but I definitely pushed myself in ways I hadn't before, in workouts, races, and off the course, and I'm proud of that," said Ciriello.
"I definitely believe that the endurance and strength that Rose developed this summer and fall will be of tremendous benefit to her this track season racing 800 meters," said Coach Connelly. As the track season begins with the start of the Spring 2019 semester, the base that runners obtain during the cross country season carries over to track performances. He added, "I have always believed that endurance is a critical component for an 800-meter runner, and Rose took a significant step forward in improving her endurance and strength."
Ciriello has already begun to look forward to the upcoming track season. "I think this fall puts me in a good place both physically and mentally for the track season. I believe I'm a stronger runner because of it, and I'm more confident in my ability to train hard and do things I hadn't thought I could before. I'm excited for that to translate to PRs around the track!"
Although Ciriello will complete her undergraduate degree in decision science and human computer interaction this spring, she has decided to return to Carnegie Mellon for graduate school in the fall of 2019. She will use her cross country eligibility to compete once again next fall. "I was very excited when Rose told me that she will be back next fall and wants to run again, and have no doubt the growing pains she experienced this year will pay off in a big way for her next fall," said Coach Connelly.