Back in November, Huron cross country runner Lucy Paliani crossed the finish line of her high school career at the MHSAA State Finals at MIS. It’s been a long run for the Huron senior that began at the starting line of her freshman year. So let’s rewind the clock a little and start there – seems like the perfect place to begin the journey.
“When I was a freshman, I didn’t know much about running, qualifying, or what a fast time was,” she says, looking back to when she was a ninth-grader. “I just ran and I was proud of myself.”
Even then Paliani seemed to run with confidence and often stood out running against much more experienced runners. She capped off her first year of varsity cross country by placing 63rd at the MHSAA Division 1 State Finals at MIS. She ran a time of 19:12.54 on the challenging course.
And then things began to change.
“As I got older, I became more familiar with running and pressured myself to continue lowering my times,” she says. “I compared myself to other people my age and dug myself into a hole of feeling slow. My times improved, but my mindset about running has improved the most. I go into races looking at them as an opportunity to better myself. Now, I don’t worry about beating the numbers I see online, just the competitors around me.”
Paliani’s sophomore year saw Huron qualify as a team. The River Rats finished in 24th place at the State Finals. Paliani led the way by taking 81st with a time of 19:45.11. As a junior, Paliani struggled with some injuries including shin splints and landed 132nd at the state meet with a time of 19:58.4. “One of my favorite memories from my junior season was going to Mackinac Island as a team,” she said. “We ran the 8.2 miles around the island, ate fudge, and enjoyed each other’s company. We’ve never done a team trip before and I loved seeing everyone have so much fun.”
Paliani would step things up in a big way during her senior year. But first let’s go way back – all the way back.
“I was an active kid,” she says. “I began playing soccer when I was 4 and running came with it. When I was in elementary school I started running through Girls on the Run and silly 5k races like the Chocolate Run. I loved running with my friends and family. Accomplishments feel so much more rewarding with people you love around you.”
So, she just kept on running, and learned that the physical side of running is just part of the challenge.
“The mental side of running is the hardest part of the sport,” she says. “Staying confident throughout a race and a season can be challenging. I am lucky for all the support I have during a race. My dad stands at the 2-mile mark every race to yell out my time and my mom is at the finish line to greet me when I am done. I focus on one thing to prevent my mind from wandering. Usually, I focus on my form. As my coach says, my left arm is always swinging around too much. So, when I’m running I’m probably thinking about my arms.”
As a senior, Paliani really hit her stride. “My season went great this year,” she said. “I finally set a PR – the first time since my freshman year. My times this year were the most consistent of my high school career.”
In November, Huron finished 19th with 472 points at the D-1 State Finals. Paliani led the River Rats across the finish line with her PR time of 18:30.9 which landed her in 31st place.
“State finals was great this year, our team finished higher than expected with several PRs,” she said. “I achieved my highest placement yet and set a new PR in my final high school race.
“The team season was amazing. Practices were full of laughs along with hard work. We qualified for the state championship which was super exciting because we didn’t qualify last year. Our team was the largest it has been since I’ve been at Huron, and about half of the team consists of freshmen. I am excited to see what the team does in future years because of how young it is.”
Lucy, 17, is the daughter of Paul and Debbie Paliani. She also has impressive numbers in the classroom, including a 4.0 GPA. She also is a member of Inno Education, a student-founded, student-led, and student-run registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. She enjoys baking, watching movies and playing with her dogs.
Paliani started running track in her junior year and ran the 4×800 and 1600 consistently and tried out the open 800 and 3200. “I enjoyed running relays and experiencing the team environment that accompanies them,” she said. “My season went great especially since it was my first year. My 4×800 and 4×400 relay teams qualified for the state championship and I qualified individually in the 1600.”
She plans on going to college where she hopes to continue her running career. “After I graduate I plan on attending college and majoring in engineering,” she says. “I want to run in college and continue participating in the sport I love while also getting a good education.”
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