Senior Sadie Adams started running in 8th grade as a “last resort during COVID,”and soon fell in love. Adams loved running in nature and saw it as an outlet for herself and very calming. When Adams was in 9th grade she recalled realizing, “oh, I’m pretty good at this, so I committed a lot more of my time. I went to practice every day, and I’ve been running ever since.”

Adams reflects on her recruiting process as “stressful and took a long time”, but she is happy she made the right choice. UVA stood out to Adams because of their coaches, specifically coach Joelle Amaral because of the connections she makes with her runners. When it came to making a decision, Adams originally was not interested in UVA because it was “way too close to home and I wanted to go further away”. Instead, Adams was narrowing her choices down to UNC, Harvard, and Georgetown. She eventually decided on UVA because she wanted a program that cares about athlete longevity. 

“I’ve had a history of injuries, so a school that is looking out for their athletes’ health, instead of just running them into the ground was extremely important to me.” 

Adams is most excited for the competition that is ahead of her. “It’s become almost like a semi professional kind of league, and so I think moving up to that level is gonna be a big jump, but I think I’m ready for it, and I’m really excited for what’s to come.” 

Adams’ long-term goal with running is to, “just enjoy it. I think that’s the most important thing for me. But also just becoming a really good runner in the NCAA, and then possibly professional later. I’m just taking it one day at a time, and trying my best everyday to give it all I’ve got”.