Running the Extra Mile

Kristabel Doebel-Hickok Burns up the Track at Palisades High

Less competitive runners might be ecstatic finishing sixth in the City Section cross country finals and qualifying for the state meet as a junior. Not Palisades High’s Kristabel Doebel-Hickok. Deep down inside she knew she was capable of so much more. “I think the state meet [in December] was an eye-opener for Kristabel,” Palisades coach Ron Brumel says. “It was a whole new experience, a totally different level. She realized right then the sacrifices you have to make, the pain you must endure to be an elite runner.” Instead of relying on talent alone, the Dolphins’ captain rededicated herself in preparation for track. She began running 40 to 50 miles a week. With the help of a personal trainer, she monitored her diet and shed 15 pounds. She started lifting weights to build strength in her legs. By the time the season rolled around in March, Doebel-Hickok was in peak shape and she hasn’t let up since. “Running cross country makes me appreciate track more,” she says. “I’ve always preferred track because of the shorter distances. The mile is definitely my favorite event but I like the 800 and the two-mile, too.” An instinctive runner who possesses the innate ability to judge speed, Doebel-Hickok often finishes with negative splits, meaning she runs the second half of her races faster than the first half. “She’s an artist on the track,” Brumel says of his No. 1 runner, whose best times include 5:13 for the mile and 2:25 in the 800. “She has a great sense of pace. Even when she wants to improve her time she knows what her body can do.” By the time she entered seventh grade, Doebel-Hickok was showing so much potential that Paul and Stacey Foxson, who run the after-school program at Paul Revere, encouraged her to try the sport in high school. At last year’s City finals she was fourth in the mile and just missed qualifying for the state championships. “Running has a lot to do with confidence,” says Doebel-Hickok, a straight ‘A’ student who is considering several universities including Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. “I’ve learned that when you compete against faster girls you have to believe you can stay with them. You have to believe you’re in their class. Otherwise you wouldn’t be there.” Doebel-Hickok confesses she never sets time goals for herself and is careful not to expend too much energy in league meets, preferring to save her best efforts for invitationals. The strategy has worked so far. An example is the Rotary Meet at Birmingham High in April when she clocked a personal-best 11:19.78 in the 3200–the fifth time this season she has bettered a previous mark. “I used to get really nervous before a big race,” says Doebel-Hickok, who routinely runs with boys captain Jann Stavro at practice. “Now, it’s more excitement than nerves. I like the competition.” Doebel-Hickok takes her role as captain seriously and tries to set a positive example for her teammates. She has learned how to be a leader from assistant coach and mentor Nicole Campbell, a 2000 Pali alum who ran cross country and track, making the City finals in the mile all four years. “Kristabel is more dedicated than I ever was in high school,” says Campbell, who went on to run at Humboldt State where she graduated last May with a degree in Environmental Engineering. “She’s got it all down. I don’t worry about her slacking off. If anything, she has to be careful not to train too hard.” Whether its a pre-meet stretch or a post-race cool down, Doebel-Hickok wears a broad smile on her face. As soon as the starting gun goes off, however, she is all business. In last Friday’s dual meet at Westchester, she easily won both the mile and two-mile events to remain undefeated heading into yesterday’s Western League finals in Culver City. Right now, she has her sights set on the City championships May 25 and a second crack at dethroning two-time mile champion Emmaline Hartel of Birmingham. This time around, Pali’s top gun will show up for the final exam knowing she has done her homework. “Except for Arcadia, Kristabel has won every race she has entered,” Brumel says. “She’s worked very hard all season and she’s going to have a great shot at City.”