TC Runner John O’Sullivan Keeps Pushing His Limits

Growing up in Medway, John O’Sullivan enjoyed playing soccer, and when high school rolled around, he opted for greater opportunity and attended Tri County Regional Vocational High School. It was here in Franklin that he first was introduced to track.
“I had never run or thought about running except for in soccer,” the Medway resident said. “It was my freshman year, and soccer captain Dan Elliot told me that I should join the track team to get in better shape, which would help me in soccer. By my sophomore year, I fell in love with the sport.”
Originally, O’Sullivan found himself running the mile, then in his junior year he added the 800, and this season he plans on attempting the high jump. Although he had run for the better part of his life on the soccer field, running track was a totally different animal for O’Sullivan.
“The only type of running that I had done was through soccer, so this was definitely a new experience,” he said. “It was difficult at first and hard to pick up, but it did get easier, and by the third week of the season I had it down.”
During that freshman campaign, O’Sullivan recorded a best time of 5:20; while his best time now is at 5:08.
“His freshman season, we found that he needed to add a lot of physical strength. John had the will, but not the natural ability to be a runner,” Tri-Country track Coach Seth Curran said. “His reach ascended his grasp, but over the past two years, he has made great strides. He puts in his work, and his wants come close to what he (can) accomplish now.”
Following his freshman season O’Sullivan found that he needed to do more with track in the off-season, so he attended winter workouts at the school where he was running on treadmills and worked on core exercises to get ready for the next season.
Through the first few years, the Medway runner would occasionally find himself finishing in the top three, but never had himself a first-place finish. That is, until his junior year, where he was the first to cross the finish line against Southeaster and Bristol Plymouth.
“It was a pretty awesome feeling to have finally won a race. There are so many kids that run the mile that it makes it hard to win,” O’Sullivan said. “I had been able to stay with the top running pack, and during the last lap I really wanted to win, so I kicked it up.”
Having been a decent miler for the Cougars, O’Sullivan added the 800 to his repertoire, or shall we say, his coach added it to his events. To date, his best time in the event is 2:20.
“My distance coach helped me with the decision to run the 800 my junior year. Actually, he just stuck me in the race one day and didn’t even tell me,” he said. “The two are very different; in the mile I go at a slower speed and pace myself, but in the 800 you go at a much quicker pace. The 800 was difficult at first, as I had to pace myself for two laps instead of the 4 in the mile.”
Much like his junior year when his coach inserted a new event into his daily routines, his new distance coach did the same this pre-season.
“She saw me doing the high jump at practice one day and told me that I should give it a try on a meet,” he said. “I have yet to take part in the high jump in a meet yet, but I will soon.”
Entering his fourth and final season with the TC Track and Field team, O’Sullivan is looking to end his career with goals of breaking a five-minute mile and a time of 2:10 in the 800, while making it to the states. He has no plans for the high jump, yet.
“Having never done the high jump before and only taking it on one week before the season, I have no idea how I’ll do, so I have no goals,” O’Sullivan said. “Personally I want to go to the States (Tournament) this year. It is definitely something that I can and will accomplish before I leave Tri-County.”