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Prep Spotlight: Durango freshman Madeleine Burns runs up front

DHS freshman Madeleine Burns leads one of state’s top teams

The Durango High School girls cross country team won a 5A/4A Southwestern League Championship on Saturday at the Anna Banana Memorial Wildcat Invitational in Grand Junction. As the No. 2 team in the Class 4A, Demons head coach David McMillan has a team in which any of the top four or five runners can be the one to lead the pack. Lately, that runner has been freshman Madeleine Burns.

So far this season, the Demons have been running as a team in the meets, sticking together as one unit during the races instead of pushing themselves as individual runners. When Coach Mac turned the girls loose for the first time Saturday in Grand Junction, his freshman marched to the front and challenged the juggernaut upperclassmen from Battle Mountain.

“Madeleine is such a mature runner for a freshman,” McMillan said. “The outside distractions and other stuff just doesn’t get to her. There’s a focus and a mentality within her that is at another level. To her, the front where she is supposed to be, and she’s put in the work to prove that’s where she belongs.”

Most freshman would be more likely to follow her older teammates or panic when realizing their running up front with girls three years older, but that stuff doesn’t faze this freshman.

“The age part of it isn’t something I think about a lot when I’m racing or preparing to run,” said Burns, daughter of Andy and Emily Burns. “It’s kind of easy to forget how old people are when you’re trying to track them down.”

Burns’ sixth-place effort led the Demons to a second-place finish behind only the seasoned Huskies, however, DHS dominated every team in their league and came away with the title.

“This last race was kind of a turning point for me,” she said. “I knew it was a fast course and I just told myself no matter who it is in front of me, if they want to run ahead, I’m going to go with them and see how it works out.”

It worked out pretty well for Burns.

Her time of 19 minutes and 10 seconds in the girls varsity 5k led the Demons. It was one of many future personal best times that are bound to come her way, but perhaps the most impressive part of Burns’ run is that she wasn’t just the top freshman, she beat the next one by 50 seconds.

The composure, work ethic and talent Burns possesses are likely related to the fact that she comes from a family rich with running experience, as both of her parents were collegiate runners at University of Notre Dame.

“My dad helped me train in the summer and helped develop a training routine,” Burns said. “He’d come up with how far we should run and where we should go. It was a big help.”

When asked about future goals, the answer wasn’t surprising.

“I just take it day-by-day,” she said. “I like to run. My goal every day is to get better and improve my times. That’s it.”

jfries@durangoherald.com

Behind the scenes

What is your favorite restaurant in town?:

Zia Taqueria

What are your favorite running shoes?:

Brooks Ghost

Where is a place you’d like to travel to?:

Nepal

What teacher/Coach made a great impact on you?:

Chad McCluskey ran a great running program at Escalante Middle School and it helped a lot.

What is your favorite subject in school?:

Math. It just makes sense.

What is your favorite movie?:

Lord of the Rings series. They’re my favorite books too.

What song is stuck in your head right now?:

“Submarines” by The Lumineers.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?:

Anywhere on the beach because it’s so different. Hawaii probably.

Do you have any pets?:

We have a dog. He is a yellow lab named Soleil.

What do you do when you aren’t running?:

I like to ski and figure skate. I like to read, too.



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