She’s the front runner for the women’s cross country and possibly blonder than Tate Knight ’18. Molly Schassberger ’17 is a cross country running die hard and happily admits that running is her lifeline and ultimate hobby. The Argus shared laughs with Schassberger as she spoke about her academics, her love of running, and the rest of the cross country team.
The Argus: We can start easy, where are you from?
Molly Schassberger: I’m from Smithfield, Maine, really close to Colby College. Though, I never know what to say because I went to high school in Winslow, Maine, but now I live in Smithfield, which is like 20 minutes from there.
A: Maine is so beautiful. Is running up north a treat, or does the cold get the best of you?
MS: Training through the winter can get a bit rough, but we do that here, too. We just wear a lot of clothes to stay warm. Sometimes double the pants layers. Once it starts getting dark out, we wear reflective vests so we don’t get hit by cars. My mom is very protective. She always makes me wear orange things when I’m home.
A: So what are you majoring in and what do you want to do after Wes?
MS: Anthropology, and I’m pre-med. Not really sure what I want to do with pre-med, just hopefully go to med school after being here, but probably take a year or two and do something in the medical field…ish. Not med school yet. I don’t know. I feel this pressure to do something that would get me into med school but this desire to do something like work on a farm.
A: What’s been your favorite anthropology class?
MS: I’m taking Crafting Ethnography with Gina Ulysse, who I had freshman year. She’s just a really awesome professor, super lively and very inspiring. But I also love the other Anthro classes I’m taking this semester as well. One is a core class for the major which is called The Experience of Limits. The topic is super cool. It’s about limits and transgressing limits. Some of the stuff we’ve talked about is partying and why people feel the need to binge on certain things and when it’s ok to and when it’s socially acceptable to do something. Like Mardi Gras, and when certain activities become acceptable and when they are taboo, and stuff like that.
A: Besides running, what else are you involved in on campus?
MS: I’m one of the co-vice presidents of SAC, which is the Student Athletic Council. So I’m involved with that, which is a lot about giving athletes a voice kind of thing. Obviously very involved with cross country and indoor and outdoor track. What else do I do? I live in Full House. It’s supposed to be for people that like to cook. It’s super fun. I don’t know if I would say I’m a really good cook, but, like, I cook sometimes. And I’m sort of less involved with this than I used to be, but WesAge, where you go and hang out with the elderly.
A: So what’s the best thing you’ve cooked? What would you decide to cook for me if you had to choose?
MS: Oh gosh, what would I make you? That’s a really tough question. I really like eggplant parmesan so I would make that because I love it. Or waffles. I really love waffles. I was home for two days over fall break, and I had waffles for breakfast both mornings.
A: Any more thoughts on NESCACs?
MS: It was just so so exciting that we were hosting it because that only happens once every eleven years. I think the best part of the day was just like how much support we had out on the course. I’ve never seen so many people on our course period, between spectators and people racing. We host the Wes Invite every year at the beginning of the season, but that’s such a small meet. Even just the amount of people racing on our course, like just to have all eleven NESCAC schools there was so cool. We just got so much support from parents bringing so much food and that was so great and fun. And Wesleyan students. People will go watch other sports’ games sometimes but running is typically the bottom of the tier as far as athletics go. So it was so cool that people were there. Racing wise I would say the girls didn’t race as well as we hoped we would, and I know I definitely didn’t race as well as I hoped I would. It was still a really fun day because of all the support we had.
A: NESCACs were on Halloween, did you dress up later?
MS: Not really. There was a girl on my team that was going to be a green olive so I told her I was going to wear all black and when people asked me what I was I was going to tell them I was a black olive. But what I ended up doing…Will [Dudek ’17], one of the guys on the team, his mom forgot the table cloth that she had brought for all of the food and my mom picked it up. I went to their house that night and I wore his tablecloth and just said that I was Will’s tablecloth. Will was like, “why are you wearing that, and can I have it back?” I gave it back. I even brought clothes to change into because I knew he’d take it back.
A: Back to running, what’s been your favorite course, for racing and for leisure?
MS: Oh gosh, favorite course that I’ve raced on-I’m trying to remember all the courses I’ve raced on so far. I think my favorite course I’ve raced on in college was probably Amherst. I didn’t run that well there but they have a true cross country course. It’s hilly and there are parts through fields. So I liked that for the pureness of cross country, its different terrains. I definitely had some courses in high school that would be like, “oh you run along a road for part of it.” There were things that were much less like cross country about it, like, “oh you start on a track.” What? That’s not cross country. So when it’s actually in the woods, that kind of stuff, I like that a lot. At Wes, I really like our long run. It goes to Lyman Apple Orchard and back. Also a five mile loop called “barns,” which is just super pretty. It goes by these two barns that are approximately two and half miles away where people will have weddings and stuff. It’s a little complex of barns and it’s so pretty and sometimes there are people out actually getting married and you’re like “ahh!”
A: What goes through your head when you’re running?
MS: When I’m racing I just try really hard to stay focused on the race and stay engaged. The beginning of races I definitely try to stay relaxed and tuck in behind whoever I’m running with and just let them do the work pace wise. Then later in the race just really try to stay focused on the race and the aspects of the race, not feel sorry for myself that I’m feeling really crappy. I just try to stay engaged with the race and fight it out. But when I’m at practice it totally depends. I still try to stay focused run wise so I can get into a good workout but I often train with Caroline Elmendorf [’17]. So we just talk about whatever. So when I say workout, my parents always get confused. When I say we had a workout today I mean we did intervals, like coach said, “okay you’re doing six by eight hundred at this pace with this much rest.” If we didn’t have a workout that just means we ran six miles but it wasn’t at certain pace.
A: Fun fact. Go. First thing that comes to mind.
MS: I really like foxes. If I could have a pet it would be a fox because I think that they are halfway between a cat and a dog.
A: Right now what is the most replayed song on your playlist?
MS: I don’t want to give a bad answer for this because the truth would be this song that no one’s ever heard of and I feel like that would be way too, “Oh, I’m trying to be cool and pick a song that no one knows,” kind of thing. It’s called Blue Hole Bridge. I don’t even know who it’s by. I tried to look it up and it’s these two really young brothers that no one in the world has ever heard of. I couldn’t even find anything about them and I was like, “Oh well, I really like that song.”