RUNNER'S WORLD: CANTON'S HALBFOERSTER HAS BEEN IMPROVING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS (2024-10-09)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
In running sometimes progress is incremental and slow, and sometimes times drop like a rock. For Canton’s Lawrence Halbfoerster after two years in the former his junior year has been the latter.

After not breaking 18 minutes coming into the season Halbfoerster has shattered that goal, coming off a personal best 16:46.90 at the NEPA Invitational. Suffice to say, it’s changed his goals for the season.

“At the start of the season I just wanted to break 17 minutes,” he explained. “Now that I have done just that I would like to see myself with a state medal, which I never though was even an option at the beginning of the season.”

He’ll have a big race this weekend with the NTL Invitational on Saturday, then, two weeks later, it’ll be showtime at the District IV Championships. He’s hoping for a top three finish in both.

It’ll be a little bit different feeling, though, as he’ll have long gaps with no races this month, a stark difference from the breakneck pace of September.

“To stay competitive I’ll just continue with practice, long runs on weekends, and consume lots of water and carbs,” he said.

This success has been a reward for all the work he put in beginning in the summer.

“It’s been feeling really good because it shows all the miles I’ve put down are paying off, and it makes me excited for what opportunities will open up in my future,” Halbfoerster said. “The summer miles definitely helped, but on days I felt like running was the last thing I wanted to do I give that credit to God for giving me the breath in my lungs, and my mom for being a great example of perseverance, which has taught me to be the same way.”

NTL INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE

The NTL Coaches’ Invitational will be this Saturday at Northeast Bradford.

The varsity girls will kick things off at 10 a.m., followed by the varsity boys at 10:40. Then the junior high girls at 11:20, the junior high boys at 11:45, and, finally, the elementary fun runs are slated for a 12:10 p.m. start.

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