“THE YOUNGER KIDS always have an advantage because they know it’s possible from the older sisters.” Ian Forsyth, one of Natasza Dudek’s coaches at Pioneer High in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just may have hit the nail on the head with that observation.
Dudek, at just 15, days earlier became the first girl to ever win both the NXN and Brooks titles in cross country. And by “Brooks” we are referring to what has been primarily known as the Foot Locker series for the last four decades. For 20 seasons the two circuits have battled it out in a competition to land America’s best prep runners, but till now, no prep girl had ever pulled off the double.
Dudek did not start the season thinking about national titles. “I definitely wanted to get some PRs and just kind of take the season one week at a time.”
Forsyth didn’t see it happening either, at least not over the summer. “When we first started, before any meets happened? No.”
But as the season progressed, both started realizing that Dudek was on a roll. Perhaps, Forsyth thinks, because of the model set by her older sister. Zofia Dudek won the ‘19 Foot Locker title, and has since been an All-America runner for Stanford, with a 5000 PR of 15:23.46.
“When I started running,” says the younger sister, “Zofia [9 years older] was in high school. I feel like she really got me into it because I saw how much joy she got from running. I wanted to feel that too.”
Even though they are three time zones apart now, they still are close. “We definitely talk as much as we can with school and everything else going on. She’s an inspiration to me. I always look up to her and her tips always help me a lot. She likes to talk to me when she can and just make sure I’m in a good spot heading into the race.”
Natasza ran her first cross country race in fourth grade and clocked 5:25.29 for 1600 in 5th grade. Yet her overall competitive experience was quite sparse as a youngster. She didn’t race outside of the state until her frosh year.
That’s when she became part of the Pioneer program, a perennial powerhouse in the Great Lakes state. Primarily coached by Nancy Boudreau, the ’72 Olympic Trials 4th-placer at 800, and Forsyth, who ran on Michigan’s NCAA champion distance medley in ’95, the team has won 4 of the last 7 D1 state titles and now boasts three Foot Locker/Brooks finalists in its history.
Dudek says she was inclined to tread carefully in her first year in the high school ranks. “I wanted to get a feel for it, for how it was racing the 5K and racing in all these events. I had to get used to all this racing because I hadn’t raced so much before.” She placed 3rd in the state finals in 17:04.1, her best time of the season. On the track, she raced 1600 in 4:48.40 and 3200 in 10:03.23 (10:06.73+).
Says Forsyth, “She’s easy to coach, and she’s got a very good head on her shoulders. She’s very smart. Her parents do a great job of stressing these things outside of running, like school and things that are important, and so she has a really good balance. She’s humble, that’s always a big deal, and a great teammate. And then she trusts us, so whatever we tell her to do, she does it, no questions asked, and we have a good relationship with her, so it’s a lot of fun.”
He notes many similarities between the two sisters, but some key differences. “Natasza is a little better at a younger age… but I think that’s a lot because she’s seeing Zofia run. Racing-wise, they are different. Zofia was more a grinder, get out there, get with the leaders, and do whatever she could to hang in there. Natasza’s got a little more of an internal clock, where she knows what running hard is, and she just is more comfortable sitting back if she has to and waiting till the end.”
For her sophomore year, Dudek says, “I got to use that knowledge from last year and really put it to work. I feel like each week was team-focused. I really wanted the team to do well.”
After a key early-season invite, Forsyth says, “She was showing that she was a little bit stronger than last year. She was definitely in a different zone. I didn’t know she’d be able to win outside of the state until probably the state meet.”
That’s when Dudek busted one loose, soloing a stunning 16:09.5 to trounce a course record set by another Pioneer, Rachel Forsyth, Ian’s daughter who is now an All-America at Michigan State. “That race definitely gave me some confidence,” she says. “I’m not sure if I was super-confident I could win [nationals], but I knew that time put me out there and put me in the running with these girls.”
She came to Portland with an open mind: “I hadn’t raced the girls before, so I just wanted to see how the race started out. And then my goal was to give it everything I got and just respond to moves that were made.” When she crossed the line, she says, “I was very shocked and kind of relieved.”
A week later came San Diego. “I felt like I had to use every single part of that course. I wasn’t completely sure if I was going to stay in the lead after that hill, but I just knew that it’s one of my stronger points and I had to use it.”
Of the two titles, she says the NXN crown taught her the most. “It showed me that I can just push all the way through and that one part of the race does not determine the next part. So I feel like that race gave me some confidence in my instincts.”
She adds, “This year I’ve learned to not be as scared on the line. I feel like last year my heart was still beating really fast on the line. But this year I kind of just try to get myself confident and in the zone before the race. I just want to see how good I can do.”
The Dudeks are Polish citizens, living in the States because their father is a visiting economics professor at the University of Michigan. Zofia has already represented Poland, winning the Euro U20 title at 3000 in ‘19. Natasza says that international competition might be in her own future, but she’s not sure when.
For now she is focused on taking a break before reloading for indoors. She knows that by sweeping the cross country titles as a soph, she is going to be a target for her rivals in the future. “I’m very happy when I’m winning these races, but obviously next year there’s going to be a lot of pressure. I feel like it’s just important to take every year differently because there’s this new competition coming in and anything can happen. I just want to carry this hard work all throughout my high school career.”
