Emma Ray was just looking for something to do.
Ray, a sophomore at Nazareth Academy High School, was starting to get antsy sitting around the house while the world waits for the coronavirus to go away.
Normally, Ray would be at school participating in softball season, where she plays catcher and outfield. But since the world was shut down, that wasn’t an option.
She also didn’t have anyone to play catch with or do any other physical activity, and considering she stays active year round, playing basketball and fallball, she just needed to burn off some energy.
“I’m an only child, so I was getting so bored,” said Ray, who lives in Morrell Park. “I would get up and do all my school work, it usually takes me about four or five hours to get it all done, and then I wouldn’t have anything to do. Being an only child, I didn’t have anyone to have a catch with or anything. It was so boring.”
Ray is an athlete, but she never considered herself a runner. In fact, when she was younger, she hated the activity.
But there was nothing else to do, so she put in her earbuds and went for a run.
Obviously being a great athlete, playing two sports at Nazareth, she had some stamina. And on Day 1, she went for a 2-mile run.
That was the limit she had when the shutdown started around St. Patrick’s Day. Less than two weeks later, she was blowing away her original personal best, hitting the 5-mile mark after a few runs.
Then she started to get even more ambitious.
“I was talking to my dad, and he told me that a marathon was 26 miles, so I thought about it and I wanted to do a half marathon,” Ray said. “So I started doing 2 miles, and I did that for about a week, and then (on March 3), I ran a long time and I hit 8 miles, and I really wasn’t tired at all. So I kept running and I got to 13 miles before I got home.”
By the time she arrived home, her Fitbit said she had hit the 14-mile mark, but she said she had done about a mile from walking around her house before she went for the run.
As soon as she got home, she starting showing everyone about her accomplishment.
“I showed my parents, my dad was super proud, he was very happy,” Ray said. “My mom was nervous. She couldn’t believe I did 13 miles. She was nervous, but after a while, she was excited, too.
“I didn’t have video or pictures of me running that day, so I sent my (softball coach Danielle Vittitow) to show her and she said, ‘Great job, keep it up!’ ”
Ray’s new activity serves many different purposes.
Yes, it helps her with her sports. You can never have too much wind when you’re playing basketball, and it’s also important to be quick and nimble when you’re playing softball, especially in the outfield. And the running has proved to be a great exercise to keep her in shape for whenever things return to normal.
But the reason she did it, mostly, is because it gives her something to do when school is done.
“It was so boring before I started doing it,” Ray said. “I don’t watch much TV, and I don’t watch a lot of movies. I’ll watch one or two a week with my family, but I don’t usually watch them on my own.
“When I was done with schoolwork, I had nothing to do. And (last week) was spring break, so we didn’t have any school work to do. Usually I go after I’m done, around 2 or 3 (p.m.), but when I don’t have any schoolwork to do, I usually go in the morning because I like to run before it gets too hot out. It’s easier to run when it’s cool.”
As much as Ray enjoys pounding the pavement, she’s ready to get back to school. A return to Nazareth doesn’t just mean socializing with her friends, it means starting a softball season that is pretty important to her. She will start the season on the junior varsity squad, with hopes of becoming a swing player later in the year. But the main reason she wants to get back isn’t for her benefit.
“We have a lot of seniors on the team, and this is their last year,” Ray said. “These girls helped me so much, especially last year. I want them to have a chance to play. We all want to get back.”
It’s anyone’s guess when things will get back to normal, and Ray is ready for the start whenever it may be. And she’s going to make sure she’s ready by staying in shape with her daily activity.
“I do most days, but the day after I ran 13 miles, I was so sore, my ankles hurt so bad and my whole lower body hurt,” Ray said. “So I didn’t run that day. But I love it. It’s fun. I’m going to keep doing it. It’s helping and I’m having fun.”
