Hopkinton High sophomore cross country and track star Madeleine Lane recently defended her titles in both the 1,600 (5 minutes, 5.95 seconds) and 3,200 meters (10:53.7) and helped the Hawks defend their 4x800-meter relay crown to backstop the team’s second straight Division III state title.

In the fall, Lane and won multiple races, placing first at the state championship to defend her title, second at the Meet of Champions and later fifth at the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championship.

Running is a uniquely grueling sport that requires tireless dedication, and becoming as dominant as Lane has been does not happen overnight, so we asked her all about how she does it.

Q: Who are some of your favorite athletes? Why?

A: I would say some of my favorite athletes are Elise Cranny, Grant Fisher and Maia Ramsden. I’d say I have similar goals as some of them and want to do what they did, and I really admire their views on how running works and the types of mindsets and strategies they have that can get you to really great places.

Q: What kind of music do you love most and why?

A: I love listening to rap music with my mom and my brother and other R&B-type music, especially SZA. I love listening to her before races!

Q: How do you strike a balance between school and sports?

A: Balancing school and sports is definitely difficult because there’s always a lot going on, but I like to focus my time and effort into what I enjoy doing because things that I enjoy are what my goals are focused on, such as running obviously and sciences in school, that and trying to stay focused when training and doing school work so that I can perform my best.

Q: This is a big question: Cross country or track? Which do you prefer and why?

A: Between cross country or track, I would say cross country for sure. I really enjoy the longer distance, and I feel like it plays more to my strengths because I would say I’m better in the endurance/aerobic field rather than speed. I also just like all the different courses and the environment better.

Q: How did you approach your state title defense going into the weekend?

A: I just tried to go into it with confidence, knowing that I could do it and knowing that my training allowed me to get to the place I was in. I had been kind of lessening my training the week leading up just to make sure I was fresh, because I ran four different events.

Q: How do you prepare for a big track meet or event like a state championship?

A: I usually just try to get really good rest and make sure that I’m feeling fresh on my runs and not overworking myself. I also try to focus on the little things like hydration, etc., be cause often before big meets or championships, there’s not much more training I can do that would make a huge difference.

 Q: What do you enjoy most about running?

A: I enjoy a lot of things about running, but I would say that I love going for runs and talking about running with my mom and dad, who both ran in college and after college and have helped me a lot to get to where I am. They both motivate me a lot, and I think they’ve taught me that running isn’t always about the end results but it’s more about the process, which makes it a lot more enjoyable. I also love running with my team and being with friends, so I guess I love the running community and the places it takes me the most.

Q: What’s your favorite part of being on Hopkinton’s cross country and track teams?

A: My favorite part about being on the Hopkinton cross country and track teams is being with the people on the team. Some of my best friends are on the teams with me, and I think that really helps me because it’s much less stressful when you’re at a big race and you have all of your friends with you. Everyone’s really motivated to do well but we all have different goals, which I think is really cool because it makes for really fun team chemistry.