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COLLEGE CONNECTION: Beede making strides with Huskies

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Cross country runner Morgan Beede has benefited from good coaching, both at Cony High School and the University of Southern Maine. But like any successful runner, Beede is personally responsible for a lot of her success.

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MAKING STRIDES: Morgan Beede has continued to improve as a member of the University of Southern Maine cross country team, recently finishing second in the 11-team UNE Invitational.

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“A lot of it has to be done on her own,” USM coach George Towle said.

Beede trained throughout the summer, running up to 45 miles a week, and is poised for a breakout year for the Huskies. She finished second to teammate Molly Carl at last week’s 11-team UNE Invitational and is beginning to feel comfortable as one of the team’s top runners.

“My freshman year allowed me to mature,” said Beede, who began college as a 17-year-old. “That helped me stay motivated with my summer training,”

A strong 5-foot-11, Beede is bigger that most of the runners with whom she competes. She’s worked hard with the school’s strength and conditioning coach, and it has paid dividends.

“Her strength is her strength,” Towle said. “She’s a great team kid and good spirited. She’s the whole package.”

Towle also coached Beede in indoor and outdoor track and realizes at age 18 she’s just scratching the surface of her potential. Beede has run a 5 minute, 25 second mile indoors and a PR of 18:40 in the 5K, which she competes in during the outdoor spring season.

“She’s a year younger than the other kids,” Towle said. “Last year she would have normally been in high school.”

Taylor Harmon, who coaches the Cony indoor track team and is an assistant with the cross country and outdoor track teams, tipped off Towle about Beede, and Towle is glad he did. Beede still stays in close touch with Harmon.

“Taylor has everything to do with my running career,” she said. “I’ve really kind of hung on Taylor here at USM.”

Although some of their training methods differ, Beede said Harmon and Towle think alike.

“Three seasons with George has been just as rewarding as with Taylor,” she said.

In addition to working on strength and conditioning and putting in the summer miles, Beede is concentrating on her stride.

“She was kind of a bouncer,” Towle said. “Last year her cadence wasn’t real quick. We’ll try to get a few more foot strikes per minute.”

Beede eventually would like to get to 90 steps per minute, but she hasn’t approached race pace yet. She was more of a track athlete in high school, partly because Cony didn’t have enough runners to field a full team for a couple of years, but says she enjoys track and cross country equally at USM.

She rooms off campus with a group of friends, including Carl, who Towle said will be one of the top Division III runners in New England this year.

“She’s definitely had a great influence (on me),” Beede said of Carl.

Being on the team has helped Beede focus on studies — she’s on the dean’s list — as well as keep her busy.

“I’ve made some great friendships here,” she said.

A psychology major last year, Beede has changed her major to social work.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com