Longtime cross county/track Coach Molly Middleton discovered that retirement from coaching was not all that it was cracked up to be. Almost two years after stepping down as Marlington’s girls’ cross country/track coach, she is stepping back into action, having been announced as Ravenna’s new cross country coach on June 20.
“When one of the Ravenna cross country parents reached out to me and asked if I would consider coming out of retirement, I was like ‘yeah’ Middleton noted. “It means a lot and my goal is to build the program because the numbers are so low right now and I am trying to get kids to come out.”
The 1995 Hiram graduate not only takes over the varsity boys’ and girls’ programs but also will assume the role as head middle school cross country coach.
According to Middleton, she realized that stepping away entirely from cross country and track was not as easy as she had thought. She added that there were times when she had too much time on her hands during the weekend with no cross country or track meets to prepare for. She acknowledged that she had not considered re-entering the coaching world of cross country until a Ravenna parent reached out to her.
Middleton returns to familiar territory of Portage County which she knew quite well when she attended Hiram College and ran for the cross country and track teams. Although a lot has changed since she graduated, there is still a familiarity with the area.
“I was pretty familiar with it, but a lot has changed in Portage County,” she added. “I have not driven through downtown Ravenna since college and now it is an everyday thing. It has grown quite a bit so that is exciting to see a change.”
The first-year Ravenna coach said that she is starting from square one with the Ravens’ cross country program which does not have many athletes so one of her first priorities is to encourage interest in the sport. She said that one of the things she learned as a student-athlete and coach at Marlington was once the student-athletes bought in, things just grew from there.
Middleton said that one of the ways she wants to spark more participation is showing how fun running can be.
“I am trying with telling them and trying to get them to run every day and I talk to some of the girls. I run with some of the girls and tell them that cross country is a big family in that everybody is welcome to come out and join the team and we will make them feel like a big family,” she said.
She added that she has also been attempting to create new ways to make practices fun for the middle school and varsity programs, including playing running games like tag.
Middleton said that developing a passion for running is an acquired taste as she did not start until she was in junior high but once she started competing, she could not stop.
During her high school career, Middleton was the fifth runner on the cross country team and competed as a distance runner in track, participating in the 4×800 relay, the 1600-meter run and the 800-meter run.
She said that she chose to continue her studies at Hiram because she wanted a change of scenery away from Alliance and found Hiram to have a similar culture as Marlington.
She also noted that during her four years running for the Terriers’ cross country and track programs her teams developed a close bond.
“Cross country is like a big family so that is helpful. We were close as a team and then Hiram College is at the top of the hill. Portage County is pretty hilly, and I really enjoyed running up hills. That was fun for me too,” she said.
Middleton returned to her alma matter as a teacher in 1995 and also assumed volunteer assistant coaching duties with the girls’ cross country and track programs, serving under her high school coaches and eventually became the head coach of both programs when her predecessors retired.
Over the course of her coaching career with Marlington, she oversaw several talented girls’ cross country teams, including the first girls’ team to qualify for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II cross country state championship since 1999.
After enjoying a rich tradition of running at Marlington, she will attempt to build a new tradition with the Ravens.
