By Andrew Hsieh
“As soon as I ran my first race, I realized that this is something I want to do in high school and excel at,” said senior Dezi Hernandez, a six-foot giant with wheels as legs that keep him speeding through the track, on a trail and everywhere in between.
But don’t let his appearance fool you. Inside, Hernandez remains humble and an inspiration to his teammates. With a combination of consistent training, a positive environment and an optimism for the future, Hernandez has become the fastest cross country runner in the league with a personal record (PR) of 15:07 for three miles, and second fastest 1600 meter runner in the league with a current PR of 4:31.69.
Not only does Hernandez’s PRs land him spots in the top charts, but Hernandez also blows away his competitors on a regular basis.
In five of six races during his 2021 cross country season, Hernandez consistently crossed the finish line nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Often leading races from start to finish, Hernandez’s hair blowing in the wind and the perfection of his unmatched stride are true spectacles to watch. Coaches, teammates and parents alike all get a kick out of watching Hernandez fly by.
But it’s not just the spectators who get excited during Hernandez’s races. Hernandez himself also enjoys a feeling of exhilaration in an energized environment. One of his favorite memories as a runner stems from the excitement of Hernadez’s surroundings.
“My favorite [memory] was probably running at OC Champs,” Hernadez recalled. “The stadium was pretty big and there were a lot of people there and it felt very professional so it just hung me up for that race.”
The pressure of a crowd’s cheer and coaches yelling out times gets Hernadez light on his feet, but he also gets a burst of energy from his competitors. It is not an unusual sight to see Hernandez leading in a race, but he doesn’t let that taint his ego. When Hernandez is running against a highly competitive field, he will use his opponents’ greater skillset as fuel to push himself beyond perceived limits.
“When you’re racing at invitationals with 15 other schools and 15 other guys who are probably better than you in a race, it pumps you up and makes you really excited to see what you can do,” Hernadez said.
Despite Hernandez’s overwhelming success, his talent didn’t come without its fair share of setbacks. Like many other runners, Hernandez dealt with injuries and other obstacles that got in the way of his usual training.
Hernandez thinks that the main setback for everyone was the inability to train with teammates due to COVID-19 safety guidelines. With an abrupt and early ending to the 2020 track season and runners having to train mostly alone proved to be an unprecedented challenge.
Without putting his head down, Hernandez logged plenty of 50-mile weeks and persevered through his training even when he couldn’t run with teammates.
“I just kept thinking about the future, trying to keep positive, thinking about what will happen if I keep training at this level,” Hernandez said. “And that motivated me to be on top and push myself to greater heights.”
Hernandez also credits his motivation to his parents, who were supportive and constantly ensured that he maintained a positive view for the future. Near the beginning of his high school career, Hernandez didn’t have high hopes in terms of how well he would run, but his parents reminded him to work hard.
“[My parents] were like, ‘no, no, you got to keep training… take your long runs longer [and] take them a little faster,” Hernandez said.
Because of his parents’ support, you will never see Hernandez slacking off during a race, speed workout, or even during a simple recovery run. Hernandez continues to push himself to greater limits and holds strong to a positive view of the future. And for other aspiring runners, Hernandez offers a piece of advice.
“You don’t know until you try,” Hernandez said. “Shoot high, and no matter where you hit, be happy for what you did.”
