In just 15 minutes and 38.13 seconds, senior Thomas McMahon broke a 21-year-long school record in the cross country 5000 meter race on Sept. 2, 2023. A week later he broke this record again, running the 5k in 15 minutes and 5.6 seconds.
Thomas McMahon has been running cross country and track since sixth grade. Growing up, McMahon was very active. Along with running, he also played basketball and lacrosse.
“My mom signed me up for a 5k that we had in our town, and I did that and did pretty well. So I just continued to run,” McMahon said.
At a young age, McMahon found his passion for running. He was fast, competitive, and driven to beat his previous time each race.
“After the first race I realized I really liked it because I was told by some people that I ran a pretty good time,” McMahon said. “In sixth grade, I was the best on our team, and I won the first race of the season.”
In the middle of eighth grade, McMahon moved to Ohio.
“Once I moved here, I was only focused on running,” McMahon said.
With new goals, new teammates, and new running routes, McMahon was eager to start his first season as a Golden Bear.
After a successful freshman season, McMahon knew he was in it for the long haul. Being the best on his team his sophomore year, expectations were high. His team was relying on his performance at districts to advance to regionals. However, prior to districts, McMahon got a stress fracture in his foot.
“I wasn’t able to race in the first district meet, and then we didn’t qualify. I felt like that was probably something where if I ran, we probably would have qualified, but I knew I wouldn’t be fit enough to run in regionals after,” McMahon said.
But, for McMahon, a minor setback made for a major comeback. During his junior year track season, McMahon traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina to compete at Adidas Nationals. Recovered and rejuvenated, McMahon placed second in the two mile, which he ran in nine minutes and 19 seconds.
Aside from placing second in the nation and setting a new school record, McMahon has benefited from the sport in ways that don’t involve numbers.
“Running is just something that you can really apply to life. Like, you know, it’s definitely made me rethink how I live everyday,” said McMahon. “If I can work hard at running, then I can work hard at other things, like school and everything else.”
With plans to run collegiately, McMahon’s career is far from over. Although he can’t disclose what schools he is looking at, he has a bright future ahead of him.
