Some words of wisdom for anyone out there who has a hard time gathering up the energy to head to the gym a few times a week: don't look to senior Kala Hardacker for sympathy.
A member of the Bowdoin Women's Cross-Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track Teams for all four years of her career as a Polar Bear, Hardacker claims that her legs hurt her if she goes too long without running.
"When I was 11 I asked my dad to mow a track in the field behind our house," she explained, "and I have been running ever since. This is my tenth straight year of running competitively, and my 30th straight season."
Hardacker comes from Leeds, Maine, a small town an hour north of Brunswick. She started her athletic career playing co-ed soccer and softball as a little girl, but it didn't take long for her to drop the equipment and hit the track.
"I ran for my middle school track team, then when I got to high school I joined the cross country, nordic skiing and outdoor track teams. I loved it," said Hardacker, who was a tri-captain her senior year and a State Champion and team MVP on numerous occasions.
When Hardacker got to Bowdoin she slid easily into college life and grew to love her team almost immediately.
"My mentors have always been other members of my team," explained Hardacker. "The older runners taught me to really love the sport."
While Hardacker has many fond memories of track meets at Bowdoin, including earning an All-American title at the NCAA's in Indiana last year, her favorite recollection as a Polar Bear was an extra-curricular race at the end of her sophomore year. Fellow senior Mike Stevens challenged Hardacker to beat him in anything, and she picked an outdoor mile.
"It began as a friendly challenge in the middle of the year," said Hardacker, "but somehow by the time we ran the race in the end of May, it turned into a campus-wide event. The entire men's and women's hockey and track teams came, as well as the Chemistry department, my parents, and tons of our friends-there were more than 200 people there, more than we get for normal track meets! The track coach played the Chariots of Fire theme while we ran."
"I was more nervous for this race than any other! I thought that if I lost I was going to have to transfer," she continued. Lucky for Hardacker, she smoked Stevens, whose mid-race slumber didn't help his time.
After Hardacker graduates this May, she is leaving immediately for San Francisco, where she just got a job working for a healthcare company. While many other Bowdoin seniors are concerned about finding a new Mug Club to join once they leave Brunswick and the Sea Dog Brewery, Hardacker is working on finding a track team.
"Having been a part of a team for almost my whole life, I know I'll really miss it. I also want to try out some new things though, like tennis and biking," she said.
Hardacker's best friends at Bowdoin have been her teammates, and she values this immensely. "I am going to have withdrawal, I know I will!" she exclaimed. "I love Bowdoin and the people I have met here, and I'm really going to miss it."