A staple of every elementary school physical education class is running around the school.
Some kids dread the laps they’re required to do. Others do it and think nothing of it, eager to return to art class or music.
Then there are kids who are instantly attracted to running and want to do more and more of it.
Lily Thompson was most certainly in that last group.
“I was one of the fastest kids and always couldn’t wait to run the whole loop they told us to,” she said this week. “Just going against other people, seeing how fast I could go, I loved it.”
It’s easy for Thompson to recall those primary school runs because they weren’t that long ago at all.
Thompson is an 8th grader at Locust Valley Middle School, but she’s been competing at the varsity level all season and is having a heck of a first year of “big” competition.
Thompson reached the state championships in Class C in the fall during cross country season and then adjusted to indoors this winter.
Everything was new and different: The surface was a track, not dirt. The air was different, and the competition was more used to it than she was.
No matter. Thompson qualified for the middle school division of Nike Nationals, a prestigious annual event held at the Armory in New York City on March 13.
She ran a time of 5:25 in the 1,500-meter run, good for 47th among all kids nationally in the race.
“The sky is the limit with her,” said Locust Valley coach Joe Migiliano. “I’ve been blessed to have state champions and Olympic-level runners as a coach. She, in 8th grade, is at a different level of maturity than most kids.”
For Thompson, starting her varsity career at such a young age has been a smooth transition.
“Everybody on the (high school) team has been pretty open and friendly right from the start,” Thompson said. “It’s a great group of kids.”
Migliano said that Thompson is clearly naturally athletically gifted, but it’s how hard she works that sets her apart.
“She had more work ethic than natural talent,” Migliano said. “This whole year, as an eighth grader, is just about learning and fun. Her job is to run and have fun, and along the way, we’re teaching her about how to pick up runners over your shoulder and breaking out from a pack, that kind of thing.”
Thompson, the oldest of two kids, loves the creative subjects in school, like drawing and reading. She hopes to go to college for running, but that’s quite a ways away.
After Nationals ended, she started turning her focus toward spring track and back on familiar outdoor ground.
“Everything is still new and learning how to compete with older runners is something I’m working on,” Thompson said. “But the experiences I’ve had already this year have been great.”
