Sofia Voss has run a long way since her first race at age 3 in her princess tiara. The Durango High School cross country runner has led her team — and many races — in events she has ran in this fall.
Voss has run all her life growing up in a house with two parents as runners.
“I really fell in love with running during the pandemic,” Voss, a junior, said. “That’d be my escape. I’d run like 15 miles.”
Although her love for running came naturally, dealing with the pressures of varsity cross country did not.
Voss increased her mental fortitude her sophomore year of track and field, when there was only three girls on the team. She couldn’t follow other people and run for others either. Voss learned to depend on herself and gained that mental edge.
Voss does her healing glow, which involves positive self-talk. She also writes a race reflection on the back of her race bib after every race.
The results are evident. Voss won her first three races this year. She won the Boggy Draw Bear Chase Aug. 19 by 50 seconds. Next, Voss won the Pete Felleta Cross-Country Invitational Aug. 26 by 49 seconds. Voss then won the Tohatchi Invitational Sept. 1 by over a minute to complete the hat trick of wins.
“She's always either the front-runner or right up front with the best runners at every race we go to,” Durango coach Ron Keller previously told The Herald.
Voss also credits her form to an elevated approach to endurance training.
“My summer training was climbing mountains and doing speed workouts on Monday,” Voss said. “I really focused heavily on endurance and running to go see things. I think I climbed 20 mountains this summer.”
Lavender Peak and Mount Moss were two of Voss’ favorite hikes. She also traversed through the wildflowers of Spencer Basin to numerous peaks with her mother during a 15-mile trek this past summer.
Although cross country is seen as an individual sport, Voss didn’t forget to credit her team for her success.
“My mental edge comes from my team,” Voss said. “That extra strength backs up why I’m doing this. They are like a family. We spend so much time together. We do a ton of team culture. We’ll get Boba together, we’ll have team dinners, and we’ll play capture the flag.”
Voss says she puts the most pressure on herself to succeed and credits Keller with pushing her with his workouts and being a great role model in her life.
Once high school is over, Voss wants to study nonprofit management in college, specifically through the lens of female empowerment. Still, Voss won’t disappear from the cross country timing pages anytime soon.
“I definitely want to run in college,” Voss said. “It’s something as of right now I can’t see my life without.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
