Bucknell’s Zach Hepworth is used to sprinting 30 yards off the field after faceoffs.
Now the Bisons junior FOGO is challenging himself, running more than 300 times that distance as a new member of the Bucknell cross country team.
“I’m 30 pounds heavier than every other runner,” Hepworth said. “I weigh 180 pounds and everyone else weighs 150. It’s one of those things where I’m really trying to show that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like. If you give everything you have to something, you can have success and be successful at something.”
Hepworth has balanced fall ball workouts and scrimmages with the lacrosse team with daily training and competing for cross country which is entering the heart of its schedule in October — starting with the Paul Short Run at Lehigh on Oct. 2.
“I think the races have been humbling to him, but he enjoys it,” veteran Bucknell cross country coach Kevin Donner said. “Right now, juggling two sports at once is tough on the running side, but he brings a lot to the table as far as his personality and his mindset. I think it’s helping some of our guys.”
Bucknell lacrosse coach Frank Fedorjaka played three sports at Hobart but admitted he was a bit skeptical of Hepworth’s additional commitment. But he acknowledged that Hepworth ran on his own more than any lacrosse player that he’d coached and saw its importance to him.
“I said, ‘OK, that’s fine. Let’s go ahead. Let’s just see how long this lasts,’” Fedorjaka said. “Maybe he’ll last a week, and the cross country coach will be like, ‘Yeah, no way.’ But that didn’t happen. I mean, he hung in there and he’s done well.”
Hepworth didn’t seem like much of a candidate to add cross country. The Goldens Bridge, N.Y., resident was a multi-sport athlete in high school at Avon Old Farms, but it was squash that was his other sport.
“I never liked running,” he said. “Anytime we had to do run tests, I always used to dread it. And then I got to college and I loved challenging myself.”
Hepworth played at Ohio State his freshman year before coming to Bucknell. Between that time, a younger cousin challenged Hepworth to join him for a 3-mile run. Hepworth remembered huffing and puffing through it, but it also made him think there could be a future in it. After all, his father, Marc, still competes in Ironman triathlons.
“Something clicked in my head,” Hepworth said. “I just love doing it.”
He started to run more earnestly on his own at the end of last fall. It continued through his first lacrosse season at Bucknell, when he won 51 percent of his 117 faceoffs while splitting duties with Colin McLoy.
“This is going to sound kind of crazy, but after our games, I would run,” Hepworth said. “Random days, I would run. It also was something to keep my mind clear, push myself. The best lacrosse I felt like I was playing is when I was running and feeling best physically. Running also is one of those things where you can’t cheat. Exactly what you put in is what you get out.”
His newfound passion for running spurred him to consider cross country formally. And since he knew he was considering it with Division I Bucknell, Hepworth knew he would have to be in better shape.
After training for six months, he timed himself at 4:22 for a mile and went to talk to Donner, who was welcoming of Hepworth if he got Fedorjaka’s permission. Fedorjaka just wanted to ensure that lacrosse was still his top priority and that running would not detract from his performance.
“We agreed if anything like that happens, he’d have to shut it down,” Fedorjaka said. “But to his credit, he’s been really durable, and he looks really good on the lacrosse field.”
Hepworth trained for both over the summer. On top of his stickwork, lifting and conditioning for lacrosse, he ran — a lot. On one occasion, he went on a 30-mile training run.
“Thirty is definitely pushing the limits, but it’s one thing that I just love,” Hepworth said. “You live once, and the ability to literally give everything you have to something, especially while balancing summer lacrosse training, is just something that I was fortunate enough to do.”
His training showed when he reported to school. The lacrosse team was broken in half for its 1.5-mile fitness test on August 28. Hepworth ran a program-record 8:10 (5:27 mile pace) with the first group. Less than a minute later, he was back on the track to pace the second group.
One week later, in his first race ever, he finished 27th overall in 22:37.4 for the 6-kilometer course. His second meet was a 32:20.1 finish for 94th place over the 5.2-mile long Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State.
“I believe he’s enjoying it,” Donner said. “I believe he gets along very well with the guys. The two races may have been a tad humbling for him, but he recognizes what he needs to do. Keep plugging away, and good things will happen. That’s how distance running is.”
But some parts for Hepworth are far different than his running teammates, who have been quite accepting and supportive of their multi-sport teammate. The day before his first meet, he had practiced and then scrimmaged with the lacrosse team.
It was a similar schedule before his second meet. Donner hopes that he’ll get a lighter schedule the day before their Paul Short meet to see how he can perform when he’s a little bit fresher, but Hepworth is ready to compete regardless.
“Racing is a different beast than doing workouts,” Hepworth said. “Workouts, it’s stop, start. Racing is you’re on the line, you’re competing against everyone else, you’re representing your school. And now that I have two meets under my belt, I’m really looking forward to Paul Short.”
Hepworth is contributing something to both teams. He’s found them to have similar challenges of difficult physical and mental components. He can’t let up in running or on the faceoff.
“They correlate, in my opinion,” Hepworth said.
It’s a tricky balance with ensuring that he gets enough recovery, nutrition and rest to stay strong for lacrosse and fit for cross country, and he’s been diligent about managing it all.
He foresees running in his post-graduation future at a more serious level with a goal of getting into ultra running. Joining the cross country team gives him a head start toward that future.
It’s something he hopes will inspire others. It’s not for everyone, but Hepworth has relished the chance to test his limits with a busy fall.
“That’s ultimately why I let him do it. It was really important to him,” Fedorjaka said. “I don’t ever want to be the source of diminishing their college experience. I want to be the coach or the person that helps influence a great college experience. And so, for Zach, this is enhancing his college experience by being able to do cross country.”
