NORFOLK, Va. — Growing up with two brothers had a large influence on Lily Guinn.
“It was kind of just like always competing all the time. One is 18 and one is 14 so we were all pretty close in age and we all just kind of grew up competing and playing sports and since I was the only girl, I just wanted to make sure they weren’t going to beat me up or anything,” she joked.
Little did she know Lily’s upbringing would fuel her competitive spirit. Years later, it was on the playground that she realized she loved to compete.
“Ever since I was in elementary school I would always just run at recess with every other kid and I would always beat everyone if we raced,” she said. “In middle school I started running track and after my first meet when I won by a lot, I just found that I’m good at it and I really enjoyed it so that’s how it became part of my life.”
Now as a junior at Maury High School, Lily is amongst the best long-distance runners Norfolk has ever seen. She ran 19:11:00 to place third at the Class 5 state cross country meet last season and won both the 1,600 meters (5:01.86) and 3,200 (10:32.48) at the state outdoor track championship. Some of Lily’s person records include 800m in 2:14.83, a 2 mile in 10:39.40, and a 5K in 17:59.33.
“I don’t think I’m a natural runner by any means because I think I’ve genuinely put in so much work to get to where I am,” said the track star. “So, I don’t think it really came naturally to me.”
Starting off in sprints, she wanted more. Running 40 miles a week is not appealing to most, but Lily is simply built differently, both physically and mentally.
“I feel like with team sports you have to rely on other people but with running it’s just your pure skill out there and it really reflects how much work you’re doing,” she said. “You can’t really hide with running and I think that’s what I enjoy about it.”
Beyond that, Lily is constantly challenging herself to do more and she’s an expert at persevering.
“When I’m in a longer mile, I know I’m in pain but seeing how far I can push my body past its limits and how far I can go against what my head is telling me. I just tell myself that this is going to be painful, but you’ve done all the hard work and everybody’s in pain. It’s just about who can handle that pain the most.”
With an unwavering drive to succeed, something you’ll never see Lily as is average.
“I have a really strong work ethic and I always just want to have something that’s going to put me above other people and I think that just helps me strive to do big things,” she said. “I just want to be the best in the sport, and I have so much more to go to get there so I think just knowing how much more work I have to put in to get to where I want to be in the sport is why I wake up every day and continue to work hard.”