HOLMDEL — Kennan Byers has been battling race anxiety for years. What calms him down is following a plan, and "knowing I did everything to put myself in a good place" at the starting line.

Byers woke up at 6 a.m., and downed an electrolyte drink and toast with honey for quick-digesting sugars and carbohydrates. He did some breathwork to calm down before heading to Holmdel Park.

Once Randolph arrived, Byers "never really sat down" until the NJSIAA Group 3 race started. Yet Byers was really hurting a mile into the final, which is all uphill.

"But I went down The Bowl and dug deep. When I got to two miles, I thought, 'I can't give up now,' " Byers said. "I was on that starting line knowing I did everything I could to have the ultimate confidence in myself."

Chatham senior Marcus Valenzuel

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