Braves senior has love for distance running

May 1, 2019

There is no doubt what activity you’ll see Shauna Drake doing in her spare time.

More likely than not you’ll find Drake running either at the new track at Brownstown Central, or around the streets of Brownstown preparing for her next race.

“I’ve been running ever since I was five,” Drake said. “I started running 5K’s with my mom, Dawn Drake. I’ve just loved running. She has always inspired me to run, and it’s something I’ve loved doing. It’s a de-stressor for me, too. That’s always good.”

Her favorite event in track is the 800, and she also runs the 4×800 and 4×400 relays for the Braves.

Drake said the 3,200 relay is her favorite relay, and that she has helped that team qualify for regional the past two years.

“I like to go first because I like to just start off with everyone on the line and you get done first,” Drake said. “My best time in that is a 2:40. My fastest in the (open) 800 is also 2:40.”

Drake’s three races are spaced throughout the meet, and with the boy-girl races she said she feels like she has adequate recovery time.

She said practice is important for improvement.

“Mondays are ‘800 Mondays,’ and we always run a timed 800 for us distance crew, and then we’ll go run brickyard or NAPA to get in a two-mile workout,” Drake said. “Then we’llcool down, then some straight outs and then we’ll call it.

“Fridays we always do a timed 400, and then throughout the week we’ll probably do a sprint workout. On weeks where we have two meets it’s usually not hard until Fridays, so we can give out legs time to recover from the meet before.”

The Braves have a new track to run on this spring.

“It’s really nice,” Drake said. “It’s easier on your feet. The one thing I don’t like is they moved the finish line to the end of the (straightaway), so it makes it feel like that straightaway is lasting forever.”

In her final season, Drake wants to go far in the postseason.

“My goals are to definitely be back to No. 1 on the 800, and on my 4×800, I want to go first again, and my goals are to definitely to lower my times and get back to the 2:40’s and by the end of the season break that 2:40-mark and be in the 2:30s,” Drake said.

She said her favorite away track is Seymour, and a race that stands out for her was running the 4×800 relay last year and help the Braves take the lead and qualify for the regional.

Drake enjoyed her cross-country career, and was a three-time regional qualifier, and filled the No. 2 position last fall.

“One thing I’m good at is pacing myself,” Drake said. “That’s something I’ve gradually learned, and being a senior I know where I’m supposed to be and what times I want to be at. My very last race, when I wanted to get my 21 minutes I made sure my first mile was under 6:40, and that my second mile was in the 13s, and then I finished in 21:40.

“My favorite race was at Brown County when I hit my 21:40 because I just hit another level. I took off and I literally felt like I was on clouds. It was amazing.”

She ran her fastest race in the regional at Brown County.

“I do like Brown County, because it is a fast course, but my favorite cross-country course is actually Bedford North Lawrence,” Drake said. “It’s a hard one, but I know how to run it, so I can always beat people up those hills, and it’s always just a fun race and I usually do really well there.”

Drake said she liked running on Saturdays.

“I always favored Saturday mornings because you didn’t have to go through school, so you weren’t tired from school,” she said. “You could just wake up, eat your breakfast, get on the bus and go run. I would have to say cross-country is my favorite sport.”

The senior has enjoyed attending BCHS.

“It’s been a great experience and wouldn’t trade my track team or cross-country team for the world,” Drake said. “Coach (Maria) Conklin has always been there by our sides. I’m glad to be a Brave.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Drake file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Shauna Drake

High school: Brownstown Central

Parents: Dawn and Justin Drake

Sibling: Brandon

Sports: track and field 4 years, cross-country 4 years

Athletic highlights: cross-country-3x regional qualifier, semi-state qualifier 2016, 21-minute club 2018, All-MSC ’18; track-2x regional qualifier, MSC champions 2017.

Organizations: choir, student council, B.A.D.D Club, lettermen’s club, booster club

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