Five Questions for Paige Hofstad

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Paige Hofstad is the top returner from both national high school cross country championships last year, but the senior from New Braunfels TX also enters the season with some trepidation. 

Hofstad missed nearly all of the track season with a stress fracture in her left hip. She's on the mend now, back to running, and hoping to recover the form that she had at the end of 2014. 

Here are Five Questions for Paige Hofstad:

1. After the way last year's cross country season ended, with back-to-back fantastic performances at NXN (second) and Foot Locker (fourth), what did that do for your confidence?

Paige: "Well, I finished second at my state meet, and I was really, really, really upset about that because the year before I got first. So I thought (second) was embarrassing. So I thought, OK, Paige, you have to get it (done) at nationals. And all I thought about wsa beating Devin (Clark), who I lost to at state. The whole time (at NXN) she was right behind me. I didn't expect to do that well and get second. I remember the year before I looked at the girls who had done well at NXN and Foot Locker and thought 'I'll never be like them.' ... Going into track season I had a ton of confidence, and I didn't really have any before."

2. What happened to you after that?

Paige: "I had a stress fracture in my hip. I didn't even know you could get a stress fracture there. I kept running on it and ran one race the entire season. I did some 400s (in a workout) and ran one 3,200. But then I couldn't walk. It was really, really bad. The mental part (of the injury) was harder than the physical part. Devin and Julia (Heymach) were doing so good and Iw as breaking down all the time. I kept thinking 'If I could just run with them I'd be able to run fast.' But physically it took a long time to heal. It took 11 weeks of basically nothing."

3. You tweeted recently that was really honest. You wrote 'I'm trying not to be afraid to be great again.' What did you mean by that and what do you think it will take to make that fear go away?

Paige: "I just don't know, (maybe) some good races again, some good workouts. I'm afraid I'm going to fail. I don't want to be that girl who was once really good and isn't anymore. I'm still nervous."

4. You are in Colorado this week, visiting an aunt and running at 10,000 feet. What are you doing up there?

Paige: "I was just coming back to running and two weeks ago my dad said 'Paige, let's go up to Colorado. You can run and not (have to) go as fast.' Up here, I can run 10 (minute) flat pace, which is super slow. But it will help me get into the best shape I can be right now."

5.  New Braunfels High School is the home of the Unicorns. Does that mascot fit the school, and specifically, you?

Paige: "Unicorns is kind of embarrassing sometimes. We are not very good at football. But also, we're pretty unique in that way, because nobody else is the Unicorns. Some people make fun of us, but we're proud of it."