Connor Hayward '15 Recruiting Profile

Hi there! My name is Connor Hayward and I'm your friendly neighborhood distance-runner! I've been running varsity level Cross-Country and Indoor/Outdoor Track for three years now and will be starting my fourth Cross-Country season in the fall. After I complete my high school running career, I'm hoping to move on to the collegiate level of running, major in Exercise and Sport Sciences or Architecture, and minor in Japanese linguistics . With my current times in the two-mile--a race I consider my baby--and the mile, I understand where I'd be able to run in college in terms of ability level. 

However, three years ago I certainly wasn't running close to sub ten-minute two-mile races. In fact, the first time I ever ran a 5k in Cross Country--besides being about 60 lbs heavier--I ran a 40:34. Despite feeling like absolute despair during that race (a feeling that I didn't know I would come to love), I turned running into my passion. Running, one might say, is where my heart and soul are. I often have kids ask me why I never eat junk food, why I get up at 5:30 in the morning to be sure I get the mileage in, and why I track what and how much I eat. My answer is, almost always, because I have dreams. And those dreams certainly won't come from me eating poorly and not being the best runner I can be.

That being said, there's no doubt in my mind that I can continue to crunch my times down year after year. Other than academics, there's nothing that I take more seriously than the good of the team as a whole and my dreams. As previously said, I hope to find a school that can further increase my abilities in running whilst providing a sound education in the fields of Architecture or Exercise and Sport Science and Japanese linguistics. 

"Say YES to life. Embrace your passions, explore the possibilities, welcome the adventure, and go for it!"