For those who dare to pick up the sport of running, winning a single race is typically one of the hardest things that can be accomplished. However, for Peyton Lubeck, that is hardly the case. In fact, losing is out of the question for this young star.
Lubeck is just weeks removed from finishing with an undefeated record in her two seasons as a cross country runner at Marblehead Veterans Middle School, something that most runners can only dream of. After winning the NEC championships, Lubeck became the second runner ever to win back-to-back individual titles.
As if those accolades weren’t enough, Lubeck recently competed in the Salem Turkey Trot, where she placed first in her age group, and ninth overall in the women’s division. Her pace per mile averaged out to a blazing 6:34, to which her father, Jonathan Lubeck joked that he can’t even drive that fast.
Peyton Lubeck commented on the race, saying that the best part was obtaining ultimate bragging rights by beating her family.
“I haven’t ran five miles that recently, but I kind of just went for it,” she said. “I felt good afterwards, especially from beating my family members.”
Though she has already enjoyed a great deal of success at such a young age, Jonathan Lubeck says that his daughter has remained extremely humble and level-headed, always putting her team first and not letting the pressure of winning get to her.
“She is just extremely humble, I don’t think it affects her,” he said. “I think she just goes, she’s very competitively driven and she’s also a team player. She wants the others to exceed too, she doesn’t look at it like because she’s doing well right now in the sport, that she’s different than everyone else.”
When asked about what her favorite part of the sport is, she said that she just likes to be a part of a supportive team, and gave a shout out to her coach, John Patrick McIntosh.
“I like being a part of a team. My coach is also really supportive and pushed us throughout the season,” she said.
For Peyton Lubeck, the sport quite literally runs in her family. Her mother has always been a distance runner, and has completed the New York Marathon. When Peyton Lubeck was little, she would run with her mother, and the love for the sport grew from there. Like her coach, her mom is one of her biggest supporters.
“She was the one that wanted me to do it in the first place, and she has also been a huge support throughout it by coming to all my meets and cheering me on.”
Her work ethic and dedication to her craft at 14-years-old, as Jonothan Lubeck notes, is truly special, and he commented on his daughters’ ability to better herself every day.
“There’s been mornings over the summer time where I’ve been up early and she would get up at 6, 6:30 and she’d go out and run four or five miles and come back and it’s not a big deal,” Jonathan Lubeck said.
Peyton Lubeck’s parents couldn’t be prouder of her and everything that she has already accomplished. But, Jonathan Lubeck states that one of the best parts about his daughter’s ability is her selflessness.
“She is also very personable, she wants others to succeed. She’s always driving others to do that,” he said.
The middle-school star said that she plans to continue running for the high school team next year, and the sky’s the limit for this talented young runner.