Heart condition doesn't stop Hofmann from winning
By Jerry GieseJournal sports writer | Posted: Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Pete Hofmann breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday night.
His heart was all right. Shortly before school finished, the senior cross country runner from Battle Creek-Ida Grove removed the heart monitor he had worn for 24 hours.
Then, he won his fifth meet of the season, timed in 15:28 on a shortened course at the Kingsley-Pierson Invitational.
Last Saturday, the Sioux City Journal's Siouxland Athlete of the Week was half a mile into the Pocahontas Invitational before pulling out because of a fast heart rate. He first noticed it while stretching before the race. He took a breath, sat down at the starting line, then a short time later, after taking off with the others, he stopped.
Hofmann, who placed 10th last season while running in his second Class 1A state cross country meet, had EKG and blood tests taken Monday, then was instructed to wear the monitor. He won his ninth career meet by a 52-second margin over teammate Garrett Ehlers and the Falcons picked up their second team victory of the season.
"I felt good, I felt strong and hopefully, there's no problem with my heart again," said the 17-year old son of Paul and Jean Hofmann of Battle Creek. "I just made sure I was warmed up and ready to go. I'm trying not to worry about it too much. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again."
Hofmann, who's ranked fifth in Class 1A by the Iowa Track Coaches Association, has battled his heart four years. As a junior, he experienced the same thing while warming up before the West Monona Invitational, but he jogged the race and ran 10 minutes slower than normal.
"The heart condition is not a major thing, though it's terrifying when it happens," said Paul Hofmann. "His heart will race approximately 200 times a minute and sometimes greater than that. The doctor suspects his condition is supraventricular tachychardia, a condition common in young athletes and they almost always outgrow it."
Hofmann has two brothers (Tommy, Mick) and two sisters (Amybeth, McKenzie) who have also run cross country for the Falcons, but none of them have the condition. One of 10 children in a family whose matriarch swam on Sioux City North's medley relay that won the 1975 state championship, Hofmann has a strong attitude towards the sport that has led to success.
"I'm a mental runner and I use my mind to push myself harder," he said. "I take off at a certain pace and keep it up the whole race. There might be some guys ahead of me after the first mile, but I still keep up my pace and I know I'm going to go by him. There's a lot of tactics in a race.
"I usually start off at a 5:10 pace for the first mile, then I try for 10:55 for the second mile. The middle is where my mental game starts.
"I tell myself, 'I'm a strong runner, I can do this.' Then, this mental cue gets in my mind where I feel my mind and my body are in sync with each other."
"Pete is a very aggressive, good, natural runner," said BC-IG Coach Cindy Wilcke. "He has so much talent. He's an awesome leader who makes running so much fun for our younger kids. Face it, cross country running isn't all that much fun, but he pushes them. As a first-year cross country coach, I can't ask for a better helper or a better leader."
Hofmann's fastest time this season on a 3.1-mile course is a 16:52 he ran while winning the Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto Invitational. He posted a 17:00.29 while winning the Class B division of the Galva-Holstein meet and was clocked three seconds faster than Bishop Heelan's Nathan McKewon (17:03), the winner of the Class A meet.
Hofmann has also posted wins this season at Alta and Woodbury Central. He felt bad about missing the Pocahontas Invitational because he was looking forward to avenging his loss to Aaron Vosberg of Prairie Valley, a third-ranked (Class 1A) runner who won the season-opening Manson-Northwest Webster Invitational.
Hofmann and Vosberg have a history. It started last year when Hofmann placed 10th in 17:05 at the state meet in Fort Dodge while Vosberg was 13th (17:12).
Hofmann set the school record of 16:28 as a junior. He's aiming for a 16:30 that he believes will win the district meet at Holstein and put him among the top three at state.
"I have to train hard and work on my endurace," he said. "It all comes down to the last mile at state. That's where the winners are made."
SPECIAL MENTION
Football
John Vickery, Woodbury Central .... The senior linebacker had 10 solo tackles and three assists in a 28-8 win over Galva-Holstein.
Chad Koch, Hartington Cedar Catholic .... The sophomore running back had 39 carries for 231 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-3 win over Randolph.
NOTE: Nominations (from coaches only) can be directed to the Journal's sports department at 1-800-397-9820, extension 4206.
His heart was all right. Shortly before school finished, the senior cross country runner from Battle Creek-Ida Grove removed the heart monitor he had worn for 24 hours.
Then, he won his fifth meet of the season, timed in 15:28 on a shortened course at the Kingsley-Pierson Invitational.
Last Saturday, the Sioux City Journal's Siouxland Athlete of the Week was half a mile into the Pocahontas Invitational before pulling out because of a fast heart rate. He first noticed it while stretching before the race. He took a breath, sat down at the starting line, then a short time later, after taking off with the others, he stopped.
Hofmann, who placed 10th last season while running in his second Class 1A state cross country meet, had EKG and blood tests taken Monday, then was instructed to wear the monitor. He won his ninth career meet by a 52-second margin over teammate Garrett Ehlers and the Falcons picked up their second team victory of the season.
"I felt good, I felt strong and hopefully, there's no problem with my heart again," said the 17-year old son of Paul and Jean Hofmann of Battle Creek. "I just made sure I was warmed up and ready to go. I'm trying not to worry about it too much. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again."
Hofmann, who's ranked fifth in Class 1A by the Iowa Track Coaches Association, has battled his heart four years. As a junior, he experienced the same thing while warming up before the West Monona Invitational, but he jogged the race and ran 10 minutes slower than normal.
"The heart condition is not a major thing, though it's terrifying when it happens," said Paul Hofmann. "His heart will race approximately 200 times a minute and sometimes greater than that. The doctor suspects his condition is supraventricular tachychardia, a condition common in young athletes and they almost always outgrow it."
Hofmann has two brothers (Tommy, Mick) and two sisters (Amybeth, McKenzie) who have also run cross country for the Falcons, but none of them have the condition. One of 10 children in a family whose matriarch swam on Sioux City North's medley relay that won the 1975 state championship, Hofmann has a strong attitude towards the sport that has led to success.
"I'm a mental runner and I use my mind to push myself harder," he said. "I take off at a certain pace and keep it up the whole race. There might be some guys ahead of me after the first mile, but I still keep up my pace and I know I'm going to go by him. There's a lot of tactics in a race.
"I usually start off at a 5:10 pace for the first mile, then I try for 10:55 for the second mile. The middle is where my mental game starts.
"I tell myself, 'I'm a strong runner, I can do this.' Then, this mental cue gets in my mind where I feel my mind and my body are in sync with each other."
"Pete is a very aggressive, good, natural runner," said BC-IG Coach Cindy Wilcke. "He has so much talent. He's an awesome leader who makes running so much fun for our younger kids. Face it, cross country running isn't all that much fun, but he pushes them. As a first-year cross country coach, I can't ask for a better helper or a better leader."
Hofmann's fastest time this season on a 3.1-mile course is a 16:52 he ran while winning the Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto Invitational. He posted a 17:00.29 while winning the Class B division of the Galva-Holstein meet and was clocked three seconds faster than Bishop Heelan's Nathan McKewon (17:03), the winner of the Class A meet.
Hofmann has also posted wins this season at Alta and Woodbury Central. He felt bad about missing the Pocahontas Invitational because he was looking forward to avenging his loss to Aaron Vosberg of Prairie Valley, a third-ranked (Class 1A) runner who won the season-opening Manson-Northwest Webster Invitational.
Hofmann and Vosberg have a history. It started last year when Hofmann placed 10th in 17:05 at the state meet in Fort Dodge while Vosberg was 13th (17:12).
Hofmann set the school record of 16:28 as a junior. He's aiming for a 16:30 that he believes will win the district meet at Holstein and put him among the top three at state.
"I have to train hard and work on my endurace," he said. "It all comes down to the last mile at state. That's where the winners are made."
SPECIAL MENTION
Football
John Vickery, Woodbury Central .... The senior linebacker had 10 solo tackles and three assists in a 28-8 win over Galva-Holstein.
Chad Koch, Hartington Cedar Catholic .... The sophomore running back had 39 carries for 231 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-3 win over Randolph.
NOTE: Nominations (from coaches only) can be directed to the Journal's sports department at 1-800-397-9820, extension 4206.
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Christy Marshall wrote on Oct 3, 2007 11:46 AM: