How Penns Valley runner Brendan Colwell is preparing to make his mark at Penn State
Brendan Colwell already knows where his next long run is going to be.
He’s going to take a path along Decker Valley Road on top of the Seven Mountains in Spring Mills, where the trees are covered in red, yellow and orange leaves during the fall, but still beautiful any time of the year. He’ll reach the peak of the path and take a glimpse down into the valley from the mountain on which he’s running.
The Penns Valley senior doesn’t know when that run will come, but he’s been anxiously waiting for it to get here.
“I’m dying to be able to go running, even if it’s just a mile,” Colwell said with a laugh. “I am so sick of being in this boot at this point. It adds like 10 pounds to my right leg and I just want it off and I want to be able to go run again.”
The senior long-distance runner was unable to compete this postseason, after a PIAA runner-up finish last year, due to injuries in his right shin, ankle and heel.
Now, Colwell is recovering from those injuries and looking forward to making his mark in the spring track season and in his time at Penn State, where he’ll run on scholarship for the cross country and track teams.
The high school senior first began experiencing pain as he ran earlier this season and decided to find out what was wrong with his body once the pain became too much to continue training. It was then, in early October, that Colwell found out he would have to shut it down.
Penn State cross country associate coach and track and field assistant coach Angela Reckart — who recruited Colwell — said his decision showed signs of maturity and an understanding of what was happening.
“There’s a learning curve for all high school athletes on how to listen to your body,” she said. “I think that’s something he learned through the injury that he’s been dealing with. ... Every injury that you go through is an opportunity to learn, for the future, how to train and how to be better at listening to your body so you can stay healthy. So I think that’s something that he learned through it.”
From there, Colwell took it upon himself to do whatever he could to help his cross country teammates compete at a high level in the PIAA Class A state cross country championships — even though his own goal of winning the individual state title was dashed.
“Our team is really, really good,” Colwell said. “So I was kind of able to step out of it personally and think about how I can get our guys to win a state title as a team. ... I kind of took a step back from being an athlete and kind of experienced a little bit of coaching for the last couple of weeks of the season.”
His turn to that role didn’t go unnoticed. Penns Valley boys’ cross country head coach Terry Glunt, who retired following the season, said Colwell — along with senior teammate Colton Sands — did what he could to help the team out.
Sometimes that meant running workouts alongside Sands while Glunt stepped back and let his senior leaders take control. Other times it meant helping his teammates keep their eyes on what they could achieve, even without him in the lineup. But almost always it meant making those around him better and putting them in a better position to succeed.
“You decide how great of a runner you are by how you make those around you better,” Glunt said. “He was one of those kids, where the high tide raised all the boats. Just the work ethic, his dedication, his seriousness about the sport.”
Colwell’s teammates were able to take advantage of that opportunity this season on their way to a second-place finish in the PIAA Class A state championships. There’s reason to believe that a healthy Colwell — along with a healthier Sands, who was also dinged up — would have elevated the team to a state title. And even more reason to believe that a healthy Colwell would have had a good of a chance as anyone to take the individual crown that Sands eventually captured.
His success and the belief that his senior year could have been special stem from the level of work the high school senior has put into his training. Glunt said Colwell was as good as anyone he’d seen leading into the season.
“This year, until he got hurt, I didn’t see anybody as good as him,” Glunt said. “His workouts were just incredible, what he put himself through. He put in so many miles in the summer and then came into our August works in just phenomenal shape. Then when we started the season, he destroyed the course record in Tyrone. ... Then when we got to Altoona, he had the course record there and he broke it.
“I could tell there was an issue with his gait and then we found out later on that he was injured. ... Colton won the state title but Colton was injured when Brendan was healthy. I saw a healthy Brendan Colwell at the beginning of the year. I didn’t see anybody better than him.”
With the what-ifs about the fall behind him, Colwell is ready to turn the page. He’s hoping to be healthy this spring to run long distance in track and has big plans for himself at the next level.
He decided on Penn State because he wants to take the long-distance programs to new heights, goals he’s shared with Reckart. The Nittany Lion assistant said the coaches always strive to help their runners achieve their goals. For Colwell, that means winning a gold medal in the 5k or the 10k in outdoor track and getting a team back to nationals for Penn State cross country, among other goals he’s striving for as a Nittany Lion.
Reckart believes Colwell can achieve those goals — another testament to the work he’s put in and time he’s dedicated to the sport.
“I think the sky is the limit,” she said. “If someone comes in like Brendan and has a great work ethic, and is very excited about what we do, I think he can accomplish anything that he puts his mind to. ... He’s shared with me a lot of his goals that he wants to accomplish. Helping our men’s team qualify for cross nationals and being a top-20 team in cross country is a goal of his and I think we can definitely accomplish that. And on the track, who knows, I don’t want to put any limitations on what he could accomplish.”
For the time being, Colwell’s work has turned in recent weeks to waiting, with a boot on his right foot as he awaits his return to running. Soon it will transform from waiting into rehabbing as he continues to maximize his chances of success in the spring and at the collegiate level.
Not long after that, Colwell will get to run again. He’ll feel the crunch of the dirt under his feet and look around to see the surroundings that have become so familiar. And eventually he’ll find the sweet spot on the mountain along Decker Valley Road.
Then he can peer down into the valley overlooking the town he calls home, while chasing the future of what he can become.
