Rob Morhard - Men's Track & Field

Rob Morhard is a captain for the 2011-12 Carnegie Mellon men's track and field team. Rob will be graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.

My most memorable experience throughout my four years of running at Carnegie Mellon was running the 4x400 meter relay at the UAA Conference Championship meet my sophomore year.  We weren't expected to do very well and I managed to convince my coach to let me anchor the relay even though I'm more of a long distance runner than a sprinter.  I got the baton in second place and was back a few meters. I decided to risk it and try to catch first place.  About 200 meters in, I started paying the price for my fast start; my legs were tying up and I could feel my form falling apart.  I could hear third and fourth place looming close behind me. 

My mind was filled with negative thoughts, I thought I was going to let my team down and make a fool of myself.  This mindset is the enemy of any runner.  All of a sudden, I saw the University of Chicago runner in front of me break his stride a little bit and felt third and fourth place bump into each other behind me.  From that moment on, my mind went completely blank and I poured every ounce of my energy into reaching the finish line first. 

With 20 meters to go, the four of us were running side-by-side down the homestretch.  My legs were no longer responding and I could feel myself leaning forward uncontrollably.  My mind was still completely blank and all I thought about was making it to the finish line.  I stumbled across it and fell flat on my face, completely and utterly exhausted.  Another runner stepped on my back and I had a huge spike mark on my left shoulder.  Unfortunately, we ended up getting second place by .01 seconds, but I know I’ll never forget that race. 
   
Every runner has experiences like this, races where you can literally run your body into the ground until you’re laying exhausted at the finish line, sometimes incapable of communicating.  These races are especially dramatic versions of what happens on a daily basis on the track and cross country teams.  The bonds that arise from these sorts of joint struggles are difficult to explain.  When you’re feeling terrible on a particularly painful interval workout and your body is shouting at you to stop, your teammates are always there to support you.  Whether it’s through our silly inside jokes mumbled through labored breathing in the short rest periods, or just by their presence alone, this sort of consistent support is the foundation of the greatest type of friendship. 

You quickly learn that no matter how bad things get, no matter how much you’re hurting; they’re always there for you each and every time.  After a few months of training together, you find out that they’re always there for you off the track as well.  No matter what problems you’re having with school or life, your teammates are always there to listen and help you out.  The teams here at CMU are particularly supportive.  As cliché as it sounds, the years of hard workouts have forged us into a family. 

I’m consistently amazed when I look at my teammates and realize how incredibly talented each and every one of them is.  I’ll never forget the experiences we’ve had and the friendships we’ve made.  My last four years would have been much more difficult without them and I can only imagine how much I’ll miss them all once I graduate.  After meeting up with alumni from when I was a freshman, I can take solace in knowing connections that deep don’t dissolve easily.  Throughout my time here at CMU, the team has been led by incredibly talented and intelligent captains who inspired me to be ambitious and to work hard to reach my goals. Living up to the standard they set is certainly a daunting challenge, but it’s certainly something worth striving for.