Being a new student at a school is tough, no matter the situation. Now imagine being over 7,000 kms away from home, having to adjust to new surroundings and a higher level of competition.
This is what faced Julia Howley, a native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in her first year as a cross country and track and field athlete. Despite all these challenges, she has taken them in stride and has become a regular member of both teams.
“I always wanted to go away for university,” says Howley. “My singular goal in high school was to go away. I’ve been a very adventurous person my whole life, and I didn’t really start track until grade 10. So I never really thought about going away for track, that wasn’t even a possibility.”
“In grade 12, I [said to myself], ‘What do I have to do so I can go away for school?’ So I thought, ‘track is going really well for me right now, maybe if I focus on that it will be possible.’ So I talked to my coach, who knows Brit [Townsend, Head Coach] really well [. . .] He talked to Brit and basically asked her what I needed to do so that I could come out here and get a scholarship.
“It just worked out really well. Everything has been smooth sailing. It’s pretty much worked out the best way it could.”
Howley points to fellow teammates as another reason why she was able to adjust to SFU.
“One of my teammates from home actually came to SFU one term before me. So that was nice, to have a familiar face around. And then my recruiting class was a very big class, so there were a lot of freshmen from all over who were kind of in the same position. So we just bonded really quickly.
“I think sometimes when you’re not doing well, it can be easy to get caught up in what other people are doing.”
“I made some really good friends right away, like Miryam Bassett and Sophie Dodd — [they’re] two of my best friends [now] and we met right away at training camp. And we kind of formed a little family on the team, and we’re really close.
“We’re there for each other for anything, and I know they would drop anything in a heartbeat if I needed it.”
Things worked out really well for Howley’s first semester here at SFU. As a member of the cross country team, she won the GNAC championships and the team qualified for the NCAA Division II Nationals.
“It was more than I could have expected coming into the school,” shes explains. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming into cross country [here]. Because I’m from Newfoundland, and [there’s] not a big running community there, there wasn’t a lot of competition for me. So coming into a very big running community out here on the West Coast, and just being immersed in it right away and doing really well right away was so cool. It was such a good experience.”
Not only a cross country athlete, Howley competes in track and field as well, running in the middle distances — 1,500 and 800 metres. This means she is constantly running all year, as cross country competes in the fall, and track and field (both indoor and outdoor events) runs from January to end of May. She elaborated that practice in cross country means running long distances every week, and short sprints for track and field frequently.
So what are the main differences between track and field and cross country?
“Track is definitely an individual sport. Sometimes you can feel a bit isolated because you are competing against your teammates. But in cross country, the way it works is that the top five runners on a team get a score, and you want to get the lowest score possible. You’re all working together and you want to run well with your team so you can make it to the next meet. It’s very encouraging, and it’s not as stressful on yourself because you’re running for something bigger than yourself, rather than track where it’s just all on you and your time.”
Howley still has a few more years left of NCAA eligibility and has some definite goals set, both for herself and her fellow teammates.
“I definitely would like to see the team make it to nationals again as a overall team goal,” she explains.
“But personally, I just want to continue to run for the right reasons. I think sometimes when you’re not doing well, it can be easy to get caught up in the times, and get caught up in what other people are doing, and kind of forget why you’re running and why you’re here. And that’s because it gives you so many cool opportunities and it makes you grow as a person, and you push yourself.
“It’s really easy to lose focus on that. I want to keep that in my mind over the next few years. I think if I do that, then I’ll definitely have some good seasons and do really good things with the sport.”
