Q&A // Maura Linde, Century, track

By Rich Scherr | Special to The Sun

1:26 AM EDT, June 1, 2008

Century freshman Maura Linde won Class 2A state titles in both the 1,600 and 3,200. (Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam / May 28, 2008)

Maura Linde never realized prior to this school year that she had what it took to make her mark as a high school distance runner. In her freshman year at Century, however, Linde exceeded her wildest expectations, leaving an indelible impression.

Last fall, she captured county and regional titles in cross country before taking runner-up at the Class 2A state meet. This spring, she capped her brilliant rookie campaign by winning Class 2A state titles in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

Her 1,600 time of 5 minutes, 07.53 seconds at the Class 2A West regionals was the fastest of any runner in the state this spring, and she posted four of the top eight times in the event, overall.

Now, the 15-year-old reflects on the accomplishments of her freshman year, and dreams of what may lie ahead.

You're a freshman, yet you've already managed to accomplish so much. Have you surprised yourself?

I have definitely surprised myself. I didn't know that I was really good at running until this year. It's kind of exciting.

So I take it you didn't have too much experience with running before high school?

I used to do a little track team in my area called the Eldersburg Rogue Runners. I did that, but I wasn't very good because I was just starting out. It was just kind of something to do for fun. Then, the summer going into ninth grade, I was going to do cross country, so I started practicing harder and I got better.

Was there something in particular that made you want to continue in the sport?

My sister [junior Hannah Linde] does track -- she's a sprinter. I wasn't really good at any other sports, so I decided to go to track with her.

Had you thought about following in your sister's footsteps and trying to be a sprinter?

Yeah. Everybody ... when you say distance they're kind of afraid because they think it's really long and hard. But when I did cross country, I saw that I was really good at distance and that I really, really liked it better than sprinting.

Was there a point in the fall when you began to realize, "Hey, I'm pretty good at this?"

It was at the end of cross country in the championship meets, and I saw that all my hard work was starting to pay off. So coming into indoor track, I was practicing really hard. Then, coming into outdoor track, I was running some of my fastest times.

What do you like to do when you're not running?

Well, school and practice takes up most of my day. I like to bike for fun and hang out with my friends.

Any goals in mind for down the road?

Yeah. My biggest goals are probably my times. I definitely want to get into the mid-4 minutes for my mile at some point. That might take a lot of practice, though. And then my 2 miles maybe in the lower 10 minutes. I also definitely want to keep winning state championships.

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Q&A // Maura Linde, Century, track

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Q&A // Maura Linde, Century, track

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