Haverford High’s Ethan Fingerhut is Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week
The senior cross-country runner finished first in both the Central League Championships and the Delco Championships, the latter with a clocking of 16:04. Fingerhut was a first team All-Main Line cross country runner last fall, and his older brother Josh was a first team All-Main Line runner in the fall of 2019. A fine student, Fingerhut recently was selected to join both the National Honor Society and National Business Honor Society.
Q: What do you think was the biggest key to winning the Central League championship? What is your sharpest memory of the race?
A: The biggest key to my victory was just racing smart and not going out fast since I was feeling a bit sore going in the race, so I knew I had to exert as little energy as possible. My sharpest memory from the race was probably looking back at the end of the race and seeing no one near me and Pat [Ford teammate Pat Lawson], which was when I realized we got first and second place again, as we did at the Delco Championships.
Q: You mentioned that the Delco Championships was your best race this fall (to date). What was the key to your first-place finish there?
A: Although my time wasn’t as fast as my time at the Paul Short Invitational, the Delco course was a way harder course and I felt like I could’ve went even faster at the end of it. The key to my performance was working hard every week so far this year, making sure that I completed all of the workouts, trusting my coach and going at the paces he prescribed.
Q: Tell us a little about your cross country training during the past summer, and your current practice regimen.
A: Over my summer training, I was doing around 50-60 miles a week in six days. Most of my runs, I would either run with my brother or run with my teammates. This season we have been doing around 60 miles a week with workouts Tuesday and Friday when we didn’t have meets and Wednesday on meet weeks. We normally do our workouts at 5 flat pace and do intervals adding up to in between 5 and 7 kilometers. In between each interval, we do 1 minute and 30 seconds of jogging.
Q: What sparked your original interest in cross country?
A: My interest in cross country was mainly sparked by my brother Josh and my dad. At an early age, I always competed in road races and would try my hardest to beat my brother. In my freshman year, I ran track but decided to do soccer in the fall instead of cross country. But I decided after spring track that if I wanted to take my running to the next level I had to do cross country.
Q: Tell us a little about your running shoes, the type of shoe you favor and why.
A: Currently I wear ASICS for my running shoes. I wore ASICS freshman year but switched around between Mizzuno and Hokas but liked ASICS the best so I made the switch back. I like ASICS since they’re light which is good for my running style.
Q: What aspect of your running are you working on most recently?
A: Lately I’ve been trying to work on my attitude, mainly trying to stay more positive no matter the circumstances.
Q: Tell us a little about your pre-race preparation on the day of a race.
A: Before the race, I make sure to take a bath the night before with epsom salt. In the morning, I wake up and make sure to eat a good breakfast and lunch and drink a lot of water. Before the race, I normally do 5 minute warmup drills and then 5-10 easy and 5 minutes steady.
Q: What is your favorite academic subject at Haverford High School? What do you think you would like to major in at college?
A: My favorite academic subject is either English or history. I’m not sure what I want to major in in college but most likely will want to do a business major.
Fun facts – Ethan Fingerhut
Favorite TV show: Survivor.
Favorite athlete: Lebron James.
Favorite team: Phillies.
Favorite local running venue: Coopertown.
Person I admire most: “Both of my parents.”
Family: parents Randy and Pam, brother Josh.
(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)
