Monday, January 17, 2022, is a day across the United States that remembers the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and his fight for racial equality. There's no better picture than students from different
ethnicities, backgrounds, states and schools coming together to compete. Dr. King said, "If you can't fly
then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep
moving forward." As always, there were so many great performances and personal bests around the
Birmingham CrossPlex, but below are six memorable moments.
Cady McPhail: Chelsea High School, Class of 2023
In the first session of the day, Cady McPhail won the unconventional 400m/3200m double. She won the
400m in 58.5 with a new personal best. She said, "My plan going in was to get out hard and make a
move at the break for the lead. When I ran the open 400m in December, I got boxed in pretty badly and
stuck behind a group the whole last lap. So today, I wanted some redemption and went out hard and
surged at the break to take the lead against the field of great runners! I could feel St. Paul's Janie Ford
on me going into the second lap and from there I just focused on form and hammered the second lap."
In the 3200m, she led wire to wire and cruised to a 11:30.88 for the win. The ultimate goal was to qualify
for the state meet. "My goal in the 3200m was to take it out at a controlled pace at the start and feel for
the correct pace to lock on to. Since it was a solo effort, each lap I set goals on where I wanted to be by
the next lap."
Every race, Cady wears a green bow in her hair to go with her green socks. When asked about it, she told
the story of her friend Dylan and the hashtag #RunForDylan. Dylan Dorrell was a teammate of Cady from
her previous school in Texas, who died unexpectedly on August 13, 2020 at a cross country practice. The
Run for Dylan Foundation honors him by purchasing AEDs (automatic defibrillators) for schools and
public parks to help save lives. Along with the AEDs, they provide free heart screenings for athletes to
help detect early cardiac issues. To support the Run for Dylan Foundation, you can visit this link.
https://runfordylan.com.