The lives of most college students are hectic. Time comes at a premium, and balancing classes, extracurriculars and other obligations is often a struggle. For student-athletes — who regularly train six days a week — this proves to be even more difficult.
Freshman general business major Caden Townsend is a distance runner for the Ole Miss track team. His advice to students is quite simple.
“Do your homework,” Townsend said.
For Ole Miss distance runners, finding time to commit to school work can be difficult. During the spring season, which lasts from March to June, distance runners typically work out six days a week, with long runs of approximately 14 miles on Saturdays.
The Charlotte, N.C., native explained that he, like many student-athletes, initially struggled to balance track with school and social life.
“Especially in the beginning, it was hard to meet new people,” Townsend said. “I had my team, obviously, but I was so deep into the running culture at the time, learning and getting my footing. … So, for a while, I was more focused on (track) than social life.”
Townsend soon discovered that online classes helped free up his days.
“I’m not a huge fan of online classes just because I don’t learn very well (in them),” Townsend said. “But I’ve learned that taking online classes eases up my schedule a lot. They give me a lot more free time. There’s still a lot of work, but I have a lot of time to move around, rather than being in classes all day.”
Townsend is on a scholarship for distance running at UM. He shared that he received scholarship offers from other big-name schools such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Furman University, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State University, but he ultimately decided to call UM his home.
“I love the coach, love the team,” Townsend said. “(Ole Miss) had exactly what I was looking for. I’d say it was probably the best fit for me.”
This was no minor decision. Running track and cross country at the collegiate level requires considerable talent, and Townsend has achieved some impressive times in his track events.
“I ran a 4:08 (mile) in my junior year of high school,” Townsend said. “Then in my 3K, I ran 8:23, which converts to around an 8:54 two-mile.”
Townsend hopes to build on these times in the future. The current season, unfortunately, has been waylaid by an unanticipated obstacle: injury.
“I was running at practice, slipped on ice and broke my arm,” Townsend said. “I got fully cleared this Monday, so I’m back to the normal schedule of running every morning, but it’s been a process.”
The first month of recovery consisted of rest, medicine and rehabilitation. Once Townsend began to heal, he resumed lifting heavier weights to rebuild muscle in his injured arm. He phased back to running on a treadmill designed specifically for injured athletes.
“After a few weeks, I started running on a specialized treadmill that, when you run, it feels like you’re running on less gravity,” Townsend said.
Although Townsend is on the path to recovery, his injury proved to be a major setback in his athletic career.
“Running is probably the hardest sport to get back into. Once you’ve stopped, you lose a lot of your fitness, and I’m still really trying to climb out of that hole,” Townsend said.
While Townsend will not compete in any more races this season, he has high hopes for the 2025 season.
“Next season, I want to go under four (minutes) in the mile, probably under eight (minutes) in the 3K,” Townsend said.
