Just Keep Going

West Ashley High School senior Quadray Hughes has been a part of the cross country team since he was in the 8th grade. Initially, he enjoyed the sport because of the competition between himself and the other runners. It wasn’t until his family started telling him that he looked like a runner and that he was fast that he actually began to enjoy the sport. “When everyone kept saying, ‘oh you’re so fast’ and ‘oh you look like a runner,’ I decided I might as well go with the hype,” says Hughes.
Determined to beat his personal record, Hughes pushed himself harder than he ever has before at a recent meet and he did just that. He ran a personal best of 18:52, coming in almost a full second ahead of his previous record of 19:24, which he set his sophomore year of high school. “Quadray is the top runner on the Boys’ Cross Country Team this season. He has finished first on our team in all races he has run. Even when he couldn’t run, he helped get everyone else ready. He is a leader and a captain of the team,” says cross country coach Brian Brennan.
Hughes, along with the rest of the cross country team, practices at least six hours a week. They start the week with Mileage Mondays where they go on a five to six mile run as a team. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the team participates in speed workouts and run ladders to help enhance their stamina. Hughes and the team finish practice with a mini yoga session to help them wind down.
Hughes strives to give cross country his all. “Other than my constant soreness, being mentally ready to race against people that are really good is my biggest challenge,” he says. In times of doubt, he follows two important pieces of advice – “the faster you run, the quicker you get done,” often stated by coach Brennan, and “just keep going,” which has become a motto that Hughes lives his life by.
When Hughes is not running cross country, he’s at a meeting of the National Honor Society where he is vice president; he is a Teacher Cadet; or he is volunteering with the Interact Club. Hughes is an example of a great student who is able to balance his extracurricular activities and his classes. One of his favorite things to do outside of school is to travel. “I like traveling and going to different countries. I want to go to Sweden and go back to Greece,” says Hughes.
When Hughes graduates high school this spring, he plans to go to college. Where he’ll go has yet to be decided. He won’t be joining a cross country team in college, as he believes they are too intense, but he will continue to run. Hughes plans to be a physical therapist because he likes helping injured athletes.