Naomi Hillen finished 15th overall at the PIAA AAA Girls State Cross Country Championships this past November.  She captured a big win at Lehigh's Paul Short Run in the White Division running a personal best 18:37 in a dramatic kick to the finish against Pennsbury's Tatum Lynch.  As a sophomore, Naomi became the first Pottsgrove individual Pioneer Athletic Conference league champion in over 20 years. 

In this episode of A Run On Culture, Naomi shares her advice to girls thinking about switching from soccer to cross country as well as what keeps her motivated to continue training during the current shutdown.  With only 5 girls on her team every runner really does count, but that hasn't stopped Naomi and her teammates from building strong bonds and leaning on each other to reach their goals.  She also replays her big Lehigh win, a let down at her district meet and a triumphant state meet which she attributes to her grittiness and fight. 

A Run On Culture Podcast is designed to learn from dedicated local runners and coaches to discover the secrets behind their culture of success.   In future episodes we'll interview local high school runners, coaches and community runners.   The Run Culture Podcast is a new side project put together by Scott Burns the head coach at Downingtown West High School.

Podcast: https://youtu.be/lsM4W8kFJNA