Athlete: Andrew Hunter
Year: Sophomore
School: How to Run Twice a Day Without Injury
Location: Purcellville, VA
Mile PR: 4:14.15
3,000m PR: 8:16.31
After setting a national sophomore record for the 3,000 meters on April 25 at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Andrew Hunter of Loudoun Valley High in Virginia is looking ahead to June when he’ll compete in his state championships and New Balance Outdoor Nationals on fresh legs. So far this season, even with his record-breaking 8:16.31 at Penn, the second-fastest in meet history, Hunter has kept up his rigorous training program without tapering for competition.
Super Sophomore: Hunter, 16, went into the Penn 3,000 hoping for an 8:25. He ended up defeating a 23-man field from 11 states plus Canada and erasing the previous national sophomore record by almost 2 seconds. The old sophomore mark was 8:18.24 set in 2009 by Zach Wills of Ohio. Hunter’s time was also faster than that of other notable Penn winners like Alberto Salazar and Matthew Centrowitz, and it’s surpassed at Penn only by John Trautman’s 1986 national record of 8:05.8 (since broken).
No Rest: Hunter’s 8:16.31 computes to roughly 8:52 for 3200m and 8:55 for the full 2 miles. And, he says, “I haven’t dropped my mileage for any races yet.” Hunter runs 55 miles a week on one workout per day. “I can’t wait till I get to state and New Balance Nationals,” he said. “My legs will be rested and ready to go.”
Consistent Season: Last Friday night, in his first invitational race since Penn, Hunter won the Southern Track Classic mile in Richmond in a PR of 4:14.15. His last quarter was 61 seconds. Hunter also has run two 1600s this spring in 4:14.60 and 4:15.46. In March, he won the Virginia indoor Meet of Champions 3200m in 9:11.22. Last fall, Hunter captured the state 3A cross country title by 18 seconds, running 15:37 for 5K.
Record Chances: If Hunter keeps up this pace, he could have a shot at one of the oldest records on the books—the national outdoor sophomore record for 2 miles, 8:50.5, set in 1974 by Eric Hulst of California.
Outdoor Nationals: Hunter’s best chance for an 8:50 will likely be New Balance Outdoor Nationals, June 14–16, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Hunter will run the 2-mile and probably the mile, too. He said his primary goal is a top-6 All-American placing in the 2-mile with a time in the low-8:50s.
State Finals: The week before Nationals, on June 7 in Harrisonburg, Hunter will compete in the Virginia state 3A championships in the 1600m and 3200m. On June 6, the meet’s opening day, he’ll run a leg on the Loudoun Valley 4 x 800m relay.
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back: Andrew is coached by his parents, Joan and Marc, both accomplished runners with vast coaching backgrounds. Joan, 50, was a high school 800m champion in Virginia who competed in college and is now a top masters 400m and 800m runner. Marc, 58, was an Ohio high school star who went on to take fourth at the NCAA cross country championships for Cleveland State and competed for the U.S. in two world cross country championships. They’ve coached at various high schools and also help coach a youth club. Currently, Joan is the distance coach in track for Loudoun Valley. Marc, who works for the government’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, will become the Loudoun Valley cross country coach next fall.
Joint Effort: Joan is Andrew’s Xs and Os coach, devising “critical velocity” workouts like 6 x 1000 meters (at 8K to 10K race pace) with a 200m recovery followed by 2 sets of 400 (mile pace), 300 (800 pace) and 200 (400 pace). In that workout, Andrew has been doing his 1K reps in 3 flat. Marc handles race tactics and logistics. “Andrew does everything right,” said his dad. “Eating, sleeping…when it comes to his running we have to hold him back.”
No Pressure: Hunter, 5-foot-11, played basketball as a freshman before giving it up and committing to the Loudoun Valley track and cross country program. Hunter also adopted a healthy lifestyle. He went on a gluten-free diet and makes sure to get at least nine hours of sleep a night. “My parents never pushed me,” he said. “They let me fall in love with the sport.”
Natural Instincts: What is most impressive about his son, says Marc, is his mature race presence. In that regard, Marc compared Andrew to Alan Webb, whom he coached in his freshman year at South Lakes High. Andrew has an acute sense of when to make moves in a race, his dad said.
Big Family: Andrew is one of nine siblings, four biological and five adopted (two from Haiti and three from China). The nine siblings range in age from 8 to 24. Andrew has a younger (biological) brother, Noah, a freshman on the Loudon Valley team who was the varsity’s No. 3 scorer at the state 3A cross country meet last fall.
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
