In a matter of weeks, Henry Giles will be well installed at Rice University and ready to make his mark as runner. However, for the last 11 years he’s been a regular swimmer for the Farmington Frogs. Giles has been a pivotal member of the Western Albemarle cross country and track and field programs throughout his high school career, helping to keep his school at an elite level with his strength as a long distance runner. Running is his forte and his passion, but each and every summer since he was seven, he’s enjoyed swimming for Farmington, which is essential now become cross training.
“Swimming here is something I’ve done for so long,” Giles said. “Even though I’m more dedicated to running now, this is still something I want to come back to during the summer. It’s become a tradition, a normal part of summer. It doesn’t get old.”
Giles was once a year-round swimmer before focusing on his running but he refused to cut out his JSL experience. Aside from his general enjoyment in competition and swimming, the real thing that’s kept him as a member of the Frogs has been the laissez-faire attitude that comes with swimming in the JSL.
“(The JSL) doesn’t have the hard part, like swimming all-year did, it’s mostly fun for me,” Giles said. “The races are short and I get to talk to and hang out with friends. It’s just a fun thing for to do.”
As an elder statesmen, Giles has also felt self-imposed pressure to keep at it. As an elite athlete, he wants to make sure younger team members get the right idea that when you find something you like, you stick with it.
“I really want to make sure the kids keep doing this,” Giles said. “I wanted them to see when your 18 years old you’re still coming to the team meets, still working out. Hopefully they’ll keep doing that do.”
Finding fun can be tough for a future collegiate runner. There’s no such thing as an off-season in that genre of sports which makes Giles’ commitment to the JSL all the more admirable. The weekly grind of staying in top physical shape can easily wear down an athlete, and during the summer, when he finally has more free time to work with, he still manages to squeeze the JSL element in.
“Running never stops, you’re always training,” Giles said. “During the summer you finally have a little bit of time off, but swimming in the summer, that’s something I just have to, want to do.”
As he kept up with the training program laid out for him by the Rice coaching staff, Giles’ commitment to an old favorite summer activity certainly won’t be forgotten by his younger teammates. And when the Western graduate returns next summer, he’ll likely find solace that so many of the younger Farmington swimmers are back in the pool where they belong during those hot months.
