Molly Ann Hastings '20 Recruiting Profile

I’ve been running—fast—my entire life, so people are often surprised to hear that running hasn’t always brought me the desired deep gratification or instant satisfaction.

I have struggled with this because, when it happens, my head tells me I’m not succeeding. But in my heart I’ve learned that running can only be my passion if I allow both my failures and my successes to simultaneously progress my abilities.

As a collegiate athlete, I hope to continue my journey of accepting any failures as they come—and converting them into my spark. Through this self revelation I want to become a single unit with a team that shares my same goals and mentality: to progress in a positive manner.

The difference between progressing positively and negatively in running for me is that I can be an individual and run fast times—without necessarily reaching my full potential. I know I’ll only reach this potential through sharing common goals and an unshakable mentality with my teammates, and this comes from building strong relationships. Through this, we will achieve big things!

I present myself as not just a strong athletic prospect but also as an eventual candidate for leadership. I start by listening and learning, but I am always communicating and encouraging, and the relationships that I create are like no others.

I may not always appear to be affected by outside motivators, but I am constantly being motivated by a combination of self-confidence and outside motivations (coaches, parents, peers). I will do anything for my coach and my team.

At no time do I ever think it’s worth disappointing someone who works that hard for me, so I force myself to reciprocate under any circumstance. I also have strong academics, but I don’t rest on that. I am constantly improving.

Through the proper mental and physical training, there will be no stopping my progression throughout college. I will be a motivator, a leader, and a strong runner for any team that chooses to give me a chance.