Hannah Chappell-Dick remembers with clarity the first race she competed in. It was a half-mile race, which she thought meant she would run down the field and back. She laughed when she remembers learning it was actually a little further than that. Running at the front of the pack, her time was 3:58 and she placed sixth overall - boys and girls included.

"It was the hardest four minutes of my life," she said. In the intervening years, she's learned a lot about running and has lowered her half mile (now 800 meters) time considerably. Today the Bluffton High School senior's best time for the 800 meters is 2:18 and she's "going after 2:15 this year."

But before Chappell-Dick can begin thinking seriously about tackling her 800 meter PR, she has a longer race to focus on. On Saturday, Nov. 5, she'll make her first appearance at the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state cross country championship. Chappell-Dick qualified by placing fifth with a time of 19:30.07 in Division III of the OHSAA regional competition at Tiffin.

Like most runners, Chappell-Dick would like to beat her PR of 19:16 at state, but she's matter of fact about that. Instead, her goal is to place in the top 15, although she and her coach have discussed the possibility of her making the top 10.

"I'm just going to see what I can do," she said. It is, after all, her last high school cross country race and while placing is important, "it's really important to just do your best."

Although it's her first time at state, she's on an equal basis with all the other runners in that the course is a new one. After 26 years at Scioto Downs, the OHSAA board voted to move the race to National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio. Chappell-Dick will get to test the new course on Friday.

In preparation for the state race, she ran 3.5 miles on Monday, did some 400s at race pace on Tuesday, easy miles on Wednesday and - to her consternation - Thursday is a rest day. "That'll kill me," she said. On Friday, she'll head to the meet with the BHS cc coach, Ashley Blair; the team statistician and chief cheerleader, BHS English teacher Jamie Erford; and Chappell-Dick's teammate, Julie Althaus.

She admitted it's been difficult to focus on school this week, but "I can't slack off for two weeks." Still, she found herself doodling a lot. By the same token, she knows she can't focus too much on the race so is keeping herself busy with her usual activities such as show choir.

When race day arrives, she'll be excited, nervous and ready. Her usual routine is to eat some protein a few hours before the race, then do some warm-ups including some dynamic stretching. She's hoping for a perfect day in terms of weather - 60 degrees, sunny, and dry, "very dry".

Reflecting on her experiences as a runner, Chappell-Dick admitted she didn't play any sports as a child but always thought she was fast since she was usually picked first for running games but never for throwing games.

She and a friend joined the track team in seventh grade, "for fun", but didn't really get serious until the summer after her freshman year. She'd placed at the state track meet in an individual event, so was hooked.

Still, she continued playing soccer in the fall until her junior year when she decided to try cross country.

"I got serious when I started cross country. I was running year round," she said. "This is my first year of over one year of running year round. That's made me stronger."

Early on, she thought she had to go out fast at the beginning of the race, and then tired toward the end. Since then, though, she's changed her tactics.

"This year, I tried to hold back. I really enjoy running with people - for the drafting, pacing and company. It's good to have someone you trust," said Chappell-Dick. "That's probably my favorite part of cross country - making friends with other runners. It really works if you have friends to run with."

Not all of those friends are from Bluffton. In fact, she's friends with at least one runner from almost every school she runs against. At the regional meet, where different divisions run together, she ran with Jill Kanney (Coldwater) and they talked to each other during the race.

The state race will be a bit different with each division running separately, so she'll be competing with all of her fellow runners.

After the state meet, she'll join some Kalida runners at the NikeCrossRegionals in Terre Haute, Ind., which is a qualifier for NikeCrossNationals. She expects at least 200 runners, with at least 10 running under 19 minutes. "Good competition," she said.

Once her cross country season ends, she'll take a week off, which she hates, but knows is necessary. After that, she'll run on her own, although she trains with Keri Hilty at Bluffton Family Recreation.

There is also some talk of creating an indoor track team where the runners will "go to meets on their own, pay their own costs."

After that comes her final high school track season. "We'll see what we can do in spring. I'm so excited," said Chappell-Dick.

What comes after graduation?

"I'll run in college. I could never stop," she said. She's looking at colleges around Philadelphia, Pa., where her family lived when she was younger. She's looking at mostly Division III schools, because "I want to have a coach I know personally."

Despite her focus on running, she's realistic enough to know there are "more important things in life."

"Running is a way to meet people and get to know a place. All you need is a pair of shoes."